The Dark Path
by Palkey
Summary: Harry has a family who love him and he loves them, but when he gets sorted into Slytherin house things get a bit difficult. Surrounded by enemies Harry must be careful not to lose track of what's important. AU SlytherinHarry HPDG
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: not J.K Rowling (sorry)

AN: This is a AU story, not a huge change in my opinion, Harry isn't the boy who lived in this story that honor goes to his older sister. Harry has grown up being loved and having a family who he loves very dearly. There i will be taking some things from the canon but for the most part it will be different.

Chapter 1

The house rang with the sounds of the Potter family, as usual it was much noisier than it needed to be, a heavy trunk banging on the stairs was punctuated by delighted screams from further downstairs. Harry smiled deeply as he set down his quill, he had been looking forward to catching up with his older sister, he had nearly two whole months to pick her brain to prepare for Hogwarts. If his plan went well he would have nearly two months to practice magic too, although he did have to rely on the charity of a famously stern witch to do so. He could hold out for a miracle, he decided.

Looking down at the letter he would send to the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, not perfect but he would prefer to have it sent without being noticed over the alternative. One last check wouldn't hurt anything, he decided.

_Dear Minerva McGonagall_

_Hello again professor, its Harry. I know you said i could write to you about anything i had questions with and I'm aware that this isn't exactly what you probably meant but i just have to ask anyway. _

_I was hoping that you would be so kind as to send my Hogwarts acceptance letter and Jasmine's third year booklist slightly early this year. I understand this isn't a normal thing to ask of you, but each year it has been getting harder and harder for us to go near Diagon Alley, what with Jasmine's fame. It always gives dad such a worry, you know how he gets when he's nervous, i was just thinking getting our lists a few weeks earlier would help avoid the usual rush._

_Thank you very much for your time._

_Harry Potter _

With a grin Harry placed the letter into the envelope and sealed it, if this worked then he would be getting his wand very soon. Having just returned from picking Jasmine up from platform nine and three quarters, the rest of Harry's family would be busy getting dinner ready or unpacking, it had taken a long time to get The-Girl-Who-Lived past all those families of well wishers.

The family owl, a young snowy owl named Speedy, his dad and Rosie had chosen the name, held out a leg and allowed Harry to tie the letter to it, he just hoped Speedy wouldn't be missed Hogwarts wasn't too far away tho. With a scratch on the back of the owls neck he let it out his window. McGonagall had always held a soft spot for his dad, something about being a transfiguration prodigy in his youth, and Jasmine had almost single handedly gave her two consecutive house cups with her Quidditch skill. Also recent correspondence with Harry had could help swing things his way too.

A stern woman was Minerva McGonagall but she was no match for a Potter. With a slight spring in his step he bounded down the stairs to find his family, it was a rare treat to have everyone home together since Jasmine had been going to Hogwarts. She would come home from Hogwarts at Christmas, but those two weeks didn't quite make up for how much she was missed.

He had missed his sister dearly, her first two years at Hogwarts had left him and his younger sister Rosie painfully bored. Rosie was a good sister but she just didn't have Jasmine's imagination, so instead of playing wizards chess and exploding snap night after night they would get to play real games.

Laughter coming from the kitchen made his choice of room easy, usually only on nights his dad didn't have to work later or when his uncles came over was there real laughter. Not that there was ever a somber atmosphere or anything, Harry mused, it was just hard not to notice the missing sibling at the table. The kitchen wasn't big enough to not noticed an entire person.

The first thing he saw as he entered the kitchen was his sister Jasmine, her curly auburn hair was sticking out all over the place as if she he been electrocuted. As his uncle Sirius was there too there was a slight chance she might have been, he noticed his dad doubled over with laughter while sat at the kitchen table.

His dad and uncle Sirius were the same age and Harry had basically been raised with stories of their exploits at Hogwarts, they both had easy grins and made everyone smile easily. He had been seeing a lot less of his dad recently, apparently work was getting busy but his dad was tight lipped about it all.

Lily Potter was starting to round on Sirius, despite her obvious amusement, but she was beaten to it by her oldest daughter. "You're lucky i cant do magic at home dear uncle, or else we would be having dog for dinner." Jasmine said trying to sound intimidating. Unfortunately the adults in the room and Harry all burst into more laughter. It was impossible to look scary with hair looking so comical.

"Very spooky, I'm shaking in my boots." Sirius choked out from between giggles. Jasmine let out a yell and stormed out, despite her anger Harry noticed a smile on her lips as she got out of Sirius' sight, he was a big kid most of the time but he was nearly impossible to stay angry at. "That was a new one for the shop, The Electro-touch, coming out in a week or so." Sirius said with a grin to his best friend. "Their hair goes back to normal pretty quickly, i do not want another visit from Minerva. I wouldn't have believed she could be worse when we left school but the damn woman is scary when she's got a bone to pick." He let out a dramatic shiver.

"You really need to work on the name." His dad said with a grin.

"Nah they love muggle sounding stuff, they go nuts for it." he replied offhandedly

"To be fair none of you were ever good at naming things, I'm lucky i got to name the kids." Said Lily not harshly with a grin at Harry. Both men just gawked at each other and shook their heads. A tug on his sleeve drew his attention, he turned to see Rosie beaming at him with a huge grin on her face.

His youngest sister and he had gotten a lot closer since Jasmine left for Hogwarts two years ago, despite being only a year younger than him they got along without any issues. She had a lot of their mother in her appearance, which obviously meant his dad doted on her like a maniac. Unfortunately for the whole Potter family her personality was much like their dad's, Rosie was a positive menace at times.

"Uncle Sirius got me a new fanged frisbee, please can we play?" He would never be able to say no to her giant green eyes, so much like his own. Despite the dangerous nature of the famous fanged frisbee it was pretty good fun, it certainly helped when you had an uncle with such a playful spirit, with an animagus form to match. It was almost like having a pet dog.

"Sure Rosie, lets go." With a grin he took her hand and they ran out the kitchen to play. Jasmine's games could wait until things were a bit more settled, besides a fanged frisbee as much better than exploding snap.

Tired and sore Harry was slow in his catch of the Frisbee, how Rosie had more energy than him he would never understand. The girl could go on for days without a rest. Before he could do much more than keep his hold of the frisbee, while it tried to gnaw at him, he was bundled over by a huge and smelly dog. At least half as tall as he was it loomed over him when he was on his back on the grass. Long canines and other sharp teeth glinted late evening light, the too intelligent eyes watched him.

"Dinner is ready" called his mum. The dog took a quick step forwards. Before Harry could cover his face a wet and warm tongue licked its way all over his face. He threw his arms out in a vain attempt to push Padfoot away, even after a thousand times this was still gross, it felt like a week but finally the licking stopped. He wiped his face on his t-shirt and got up to chase the dog, but all he saw was his dogfathers face grinning from the door to the kitchen.

"Shoes off Harry you know the rules." Mum didn't let anyone get away with making her kitchen messy, not even dad. With a groan as he stepping into the kitchen he took his shoes off and put them next to Rosie's, he noticed Sirius had his on still and he even gave Harry a grin and a wink. Stupid animagus'.

Dinner was a cheerful event most nights, but with Jasmine coming home for summer holidays and uncle Sirius the room was alive with joy and laughter. The food had obviously not hurt matters, Mums famous pork chops were always a recipe for a good night. Before long his dad and Sirius had a bottle of muggle beer each and were tidying up the dishes, Rosie was upstairs with Mum getting ready for bed, and Harry was able to get to talk to Jasmine.

"So tell me all about the quidditch cup." Harry burst out, he knew Jasmine loved to talk about her game winning plays as Gryffindor seeker. Youngest in a century she had been and was well worth the hype according to his dad, though he might be biased.

"You'll never believe this one, so Cedric Diggory is the new Hufflepuff seeker..." Harry let it wash over him a bit, he made sure to react properly, no one liked a bad audience. He would be living this life soon, at Hogwarts where he had heard so many stories from everyone he loved, except Rosie of course.

He would be in the stands cheering his sister and her friends on while they played quidditch, he would meet his friends in the great hall and play pranks on people all the time. He would have his own wand and be able to do whatever he wanted.

"And then the bludger hit him in his...well you knows..." she let out a cackle "I almost feel sorry for poor Flint, Fred and George are really good beaters, I'm glad I'm on their team." Harry laughed along with her, he did feel sorry for this Flint person though.

"You have to have been the youngest team to ever win the cup though, you're all second years" Harry said in awe. He had heard his dad talking about the team so full of pride for Jasmine, it was easy to tell why when apparently they had been unstoppable of the quidditch pitch.

"Not all of us, Wood is in his fourth year." Jasmine replied almost smugly. "He was in tears for days, he said the reason we all made the team was in hopes that after a few year we would be the best, but we already are." She deserved to be proud Harry thought, dad had been raving for weeks about how good she and her friends were. And it was better than being famous for not dying.

Their conversation started to lull to a stop and in the peaceful silence Harry and Jasmine began to hear raised voices coming from the kitchen. They looked at each other and shifted quietly towards the kitchen trying to make as little noise as possible, their dad tried very hard not to talk about work at home but sometimes things were hard to keep to himself. It was very rare to hear his dad speaking with as seriously as he was now.

"That's six different heads of departments changed in two years, I'm not imagining things. No matter what Bones says." James Potter let a bit of anger out with the way he pronounced his bosses name.

"And their all death eaters? Their replacements?" Uncle Sirius asked with a similar level of seriousness.

His dad gave a humorless laugh. "Avery, Nott, Yaxley, McNair, Mulciber and Malfoy." There was a heavy pause after his dad listed off those names, Harry knew a few from his dad's previous complaints about work. "Every single one of them claimed they had been under the imperious curse when Voldemort was around. And Bones has the nerve to say its all in my head."

"What else can she say James?" His mums voice was quiet and worried sounding. He met Jasmines eyes and noticed she looked afraid, it slowly dawned on him that he was scared too. He reached out and held Jasmines hand for comfort, she gave him a warm smile. "It's not like she can start accusing prominent members of our society with that, she's not stupid James. She's probably trying to keep you and the other aurors out of it." She finished with a bit more confidence in her voice.

"We can do some raids on their houses, or we can call them out for the filthy liars they are." His dad said with an anger Harry and Jasmine had never heard from their unusually jovial dad.

Sirius chimed in with his opinion. "Its too late to bring up the war, the ministry has tried to forget all about Voldemort and his death eaters. They act like they can ignore the problem and it will just go away,"

"Yeah i know, its just Bones was meant to be different. She lost almost her whole family to those lunatics, and now she's just letting them take over the ministry." Their dad sounded dejected.

"James, Amelia Bones isn't going to let this slide and you know it. You know she wont, but what is she meant to do. As far as anyone is concerned all of them are innocent of all charges they had against them." His mum said in a placating tone. "Anyway Amelia is the least of our concerns, why are they taking over departments James? Have you got any ideas?"

A soft laugh came as a surprise to Harry and Jasmine, their father found the subject anything but funny and yet he still laughed. "I don't have a clue Lily, i wish i did but all i can think is they are planing for Voldemort to come back. But that's hardly a good starting point." His dad said it so matter of fact it took harry a few seconds to realize why he had heard.

Death eaters were plotting to have Voldemort be returned to power, fear crept down his spine. The occasional story of what things were like back then had painted a gruesome picture, with people vanishing left right and center and killings. His mum and dad tried to avoid saying it but there were lost of killing.

Harry looked at Jasmine who was staring blankly, her face was pale and her eyes unfocused. She had a painful grip on his hand and he tried and failed to take his hand back. "Jasmine you're hurting me." He whispered to her, she blinked and her grip got tighter. Harry tried so hard not to make a sound but a small whimper came out, and the effect was immediate.

In the other room a chair squeaked and someone moved, his mothers voice quietly asked "Where are the kids?" Thought it seemed she knew the answer. Harry and Jasmine quickly dashed back to the sofa they had been sitting on before. Jasmine gave Harry a hard look, one they had shared a few times before. A silent plea from one sibling to another to play along.

"So i pulled out of the dive at the last second and had the snitch in my hand." She said, her voice wasn't as jubilant as it could have been but Harry doubted anyone would notice.

He gave an elaborate sigh and threw himself back into the cushioned part of the sofa. "Wow Jasmine. That sounds so scary, how can you stomach it, i think I'd die of fright doing a seventy foot dive."

The door to the room was opened and their mum called out to them from the door. "Its getting close to bedtime now kids." They made a good show of being annoyed, even to the point of starting to argue with their mum. Having a marauder for a father came in handy with some things.

They started to make their way upstairs to their bedrooms, they both knew they had gotten away with their eavesdropping but knew better than to risk going for more. And if Harry was perfectly honest he was a little bit afraid of what he might hear, though remembering how Jasmine looked when his dad had mentioned You-Know-Who coming back he doubted he was the only one.

As they reached the top of the stairs Harry realized he hadn't managed to ask what he had been desperate for. Even if they were a bit on edge he figured it was worth a shot. "How are classes this year? Are they really hard?" Harry asked, he was very eager to start learning magic and Jasmine knew it. Her quick grin told him as much, she reached out to him to rustle his already messy hair.

"You want my notes from class again Harry?"

"Yes please." He lunged forward to hug Jasmine, they both knew mum wouldn't be happy with her sharing actual magical instructions with Harry. She had shared her first year notes with harry and he had spent many a long night devouring the contents, seeing and reading about so much different magic was becoming a frustration to Harry after reading through Jasmine's notes he knew he was ready. And if Harry's plan worked out he would have a wand by the end of the week.

The kitchen table was piled with breakfast pancakes, Jasmine's favorite, Harry noted sourly. Easily Jasmine's greatest flaw was her love of pancakes, peanut butter, fruit or even chocolate didn't make things any better in his opinion. He was the last one down this morning, so he had the suspiciously smaller pile. His mum and dad were talking about James' potential promotion coming up, and Jasmine and Rosie were talking about flying on brooms, so Harry settled himself down and began to eat.

Dad was finishing up his morning routine when Harry finished his last pancake, the poor comb dad tried to tame his hair with was woefully short of the task. While his dads hair was messy it wasn't nearly as bad as his own, apparently years of fighting with it was working out for his dad. As he went to give his wife a kiss before flooing into the ministry, his dad called out to them. "Looks like Speedy went out to get us some mail last night." Harry's chair made a loud crash as it fell backwards after he had jolted up. He noticed his mother giving him a strange look, which made his dad look at him too. An embarrassed blush crept up his cheeks and ruined his hopes of avoiding them realizing he had been up to anything.

With a forced laugh he said. "That might be our Hogwarts letters dad." Now his dads eyebrows shot up, and his mother had a look that had sent everyone one in the room to bed without dinner before.

"It's way too early for that Harry." James said dismissively.

Harry made his way to the back door to let the owl in, the window above the sink was already open but it was much to close to his parents for his liking. Speedy slowed fractionally before perching himself on Harry's shoulder, quickly fumbling for the letters on tied to his leg as soon as he had them untied they flashed across the room.

His mother was looking at the seals on the back of the letters tapping them idly with her wand, she looked confused for a split second then she smoothed her face into a calm mask. Her electric emerald eyes were fixed on him. "How did you know we were getting letters from Hogwarts today, Harry?" Her voice had no emotion behind it.

"I didn't mum, i just thought it might. Cos last year we had such a horrible time at Diagon Alley." He realized he was wringing his hands nervously... and he was sweaty. His dad was now reading the letters addresses, five letters Harry noticed. He busied himself with stroking Speedy, it helped not to make eye contact with his mother, for some reason he always got nervous when she was telling him off.

"Two for Jasmine, and Three for Harry." His dad said casually, as if he didn't know he was throwing Harry to the wolves... well wolf. "One of which is from our dear friend Minerva and not Hogwarts." His gave met Harry's with a sharpness that was rare for his dad. He was rare to anger and even rarer to calculated reasoning, he left the bulk of that to his capable wife usually.

"Harry..." his mother said in a warning tone.

And he spilled his little secret, as he explained what he had done he realized his dad looked at the letters in shock and heard his sisters laughing at his nervousness. Mum however just watched him for a long time. She plucked the letter his dad had noticed didn't carry the Hogwarts seal and opened it, after a quick skim she blinked and read much closer.

Harry was beyond worried, all he wanted was his wand as soon as he could possibly get it. With his mum in this kind of mood he would be lucky to have a broomstick by the end of this talk. His sisters didn't help either, Jasmine took way too much joy at watching him be the subject of mum's ire, and Rosie kept asking Jasmine if Harry was in big big trouble.

A laugh broke the tension for a moment. Harry snapped his head back to his parents, his mum was giggling slightly as she passed the letter to his dad. Hope began to swell up in his stomach, the leaden weight seemed to lighten slightly. Until he saw his dads scowl.

"She has a point James." His mother said warmly. Giving his father a bump with her hip.

"And here i was starting to like the woman." His dad replied in mock outrage. "Lily honey, can you deal with this? I really need to get off to work." At her nod he gave Harry a small glare, and kisses for his girls and took off to go floo to work.

His mum carefully handed Jasmine the two letter addressed to her and gave her a smile. "Jazz love, please take these upstairs with Rose."

a muttered "Sure, mum." And a final glance at Harry from Jasmine and Harry was alone with his mum.

With a labored sigh she sat down, ignoring the remnants of breakfast on the table. "Sit down Harry." He wasted no time in doing so, she didn't seem angry so he wasn't going to try his luck. She placed the letter on the table and turned it so Harry could read what it said.

_Dear Mr Potter_

_As you have no doubt guessed I did decide to go ahead with your request and you should fine enclosed both yours and your sisters Hogwarts letters._

_As unorthodox as your request was i understand completely, the drive to learn is as strong in you as it was in myself. But you must very careful with learning magic, your mother is a very capable witch and i will be in touch with her to hear if you are being sensible with your studies. Also i would please ask you not to mention this to anyone outside your family, as deputy headmistress and head of Gryffindor house having favorites is unprofessional._

_I look forwards to seeing you at Hogwarts this September, I am expecting nothing short of excellence from you Harry and i would hate to see my trust being misplaced. _

_From Minerva McGonagall _

_P.S. Yes, unfortunately i do know exactly how your father is, he was the bane of my existence for seven long years. He would lose his head if it weren't attached to his neck. Pass on my best wishes to Lily she must have had a rough time of it these last fourteen years. _

Harry was unsure wether to laugh or not, she clearly tried to rile his father up, but he figured his mother wouldn't appreciate him making light of the situation. He met his mothers eyes and nodded to her, she folded the letter up and sat it to the side.

"You've been writing to Hogwarts professors?" She asked casually

"Only McGonagall, mum."

She gave the other two letters a sharp tap "_Professor_ McGonagall, Harry." Harry nodded again he would need to get used to that. "Why have you been writing to professor McGonagall, Harry?" She asked him.

"Erm, well mum. You and Dad never let me learn much useful stuff about magic, and Jasmine said McGonagall was really helpful to her so i reach out to her." He felt some shame in admitting it, it wasn't like they had tried to stop him learning about magic, they just never gave him a wand to use or let him really study the theory.

A sigh left his mothers pursed lips. "Well i can hardly blame you, i was the same way. Though i never had a teacher to rely on, i only had Severus." A smile crept onto her face, and her voice was much warmer now. "What did she mean by 'I know how your dad is'?"

Harry did let out a laugh, it was hard not to. From what he had heard from his uncles and his mother, dad had made every Hogwarts professor's life a nightmare. Along with said uncle though to be fair. "I had to play up to how much she adores Jasmine and Dad. So I mentioned how rough it was last year to get just Jasmine's supply's and said how worried it made dad."

His mum gave him a weighing look, a slight raised eyebrow and then it was gone. "Charming McGonagall already, i almost feel sorry for them when you get there." She said with a grin, she knew Harry took more after her than his dad and loved to rub it in dad's face.

"So mum, erm, can we go get our stuff soon?" The words had hardly left his mouth before he regretted them, he should have lost her talk to dad first. He knew dad was more excited to teach Harry some wand work than his mum was.

"I don't see why not." She said and gave a dazzling smile when she saw him look up at her, he knew his mouth was hanging open but he couldn't even think to shut it. He gave his mum the biggest hug ever. "There are a few... conditions though Harry." She said while he was hugging her.

She was grinning at him, oh boy this was going to be rough, he thought. She had learned to deal with his dad long before he and his sisters could try being smart with her, and she loved getting one over on them.

"First of all, we aren't going anywhere without your dad." Huh, that was pretty reasonable. He gave a quick nod to let her know he agreed. "Second, you are to write the best thank you letter to Minerva I have ever seen." Another hasty nod. He wouldn't even have to play anything up, Professor McGonagall had given him an amazing early birthday present.

His mum's grin faded, and she held his hand as she spoke. "Last of all, you will only be allowed your wand when i give it to you." Harry felt his heart sink, his mum was great and all that but she would never let him do what he was hoping he was capable of. He opened his mouth to protest but it seemed like she knew what he was going to say as she cut him off. "I wont budge on this Harry. Magic is amazing and I remember my first time holding my wand, but i need to know that you are being safe."

"You can just as easily blow a hole in the house as you could make a simple light without any training." She continued. "I'm not doing this to be mean Harry, I will work with you on it everyday, but i cant give you free reign." Harry felt the fight leave him, it really was better than nothing and so much better than accidentally blowing the house up.

He gave a dejected nod and a small smile, knowing it wouldn't make anything better but trying none the less. His mum just ruffled his hair, and stood up. "Well i had better floo call your dad in his office, see if he can take a half day or at least a long lunch."

"Thanks mum, I love you." He said as he rushed of to go tell his sisters the good news.

As luck would have it his dad had managed to get out of work at lunch time, which meant Harry tried to be patient while his family had the audacity to talk while having lunch. He paced around the kitchen unable to keep still, after a very long while it seemed they got the message. Red flames flashed to Green and the his dad vanished towards Diagon Alley, Harry rushed in hardly waiting for his dad to vanish up into the flames. As he stumbled out into the open air of Diagon Alley his dad caught him, Harry had never learned the subtleties of floo travel, he noticed the alley way was almost completely empty. The only shop that had obvious customers was the ice cream parlor, on any other day it would be the place harry would rush to, instead he started to make his way to the dusty looking shop next door to it, Ollivanders.

A firm hand on his shoulder and his dads rich laugh gave Harry a reason to stop, with an elaborate sigh he turned to wait for the rest of his family. Jasmine was helping Rosie dust herself off, fireplaces and clothes weren't exactly healthy mix, Harry started to do the same as he noticed his glasses had a fair amount of soot obscuring his sight. Deciding he wasn't making any progress with his glasses he turned to his dad. "Little help here dad?" He said with a grin.

"Oh sorry got caught up in checking the alley." He said with a nervous titter, with a wave of his wand Harry and Rosie were instantly clean again. His mum casually stepped out of the fireplace looking spotless, Harry decided for not the first time that floo travel was ridiculous. She gave him a nod and Harry needed no further urging. He grabbed Rosie by the hand and they ran towards the wand shop, he bounded up to the door and flung it open. They did wait for the others to catch up, it wasn't everyday you got a wand. As they all filed in the shop Harry closed the door behind them and took in the dusty show again.

It looked exactly as it had when Jasmine had gotten her wand, dusty boxes littered the endless shelves behind the counter, and the old white haired wizard who owned the shop appeared with a small clatter. Harry wondered how many wands were stored in the shop, when they had come for Jasmine's wand they went through at least twenty different wands, until me Ollivander pulled out a most 'curious' wand.

"I am here for a wand, Mr Ollivander." He said walking up to the counter, he had actually beaten him to the punch. Harry had no interest in hearing what kind of wands he had sold his family, how the man remembered them all was a mystery. His mum coughed behind him, and Harry felt himself blush a bit. "Please mr Ollivander." He corrected himself.

Ollivander let out a sigh, "Well you've come to the right place mr Potter, if i say so myself." He gave a wave of his wand and tape measures gently started to measure Harry in all sorts of complex and unhelpful ways. "What's your wand hand?" He asked.

"Right, sir." Harry answered extending said hand

"Yes, yes, very good." Ollivander muttered to himself, he had started to shuffle back to the lines of boxed wands touching one here or there before shaking his head and moving again. With a chuckle and grin he walked back up to the counter, he gave his own wand another wave and the measuring tapes stopped what they were doing.

"I always wondered if he even needed those." He heard his dad ask, but Harry didn't take his eyes off the box the old man was holding.

"They do help me get a rough idea what a wizard or witch might need, Mr Potter." Ollivander said with a chuckle. He opened the box in front of Harry and brushed the fabric covering the wand out of the way, Harry saw the wand offered to him and reached out for it. "Applewood, nine and a half inches, with a kelpie hair core." He said expectantly.

Harry took the wand and a deep breath, he looked to his family and grinned, he waved it at the ceiling hoping to clear some cobwebs and remove a bit of dust. Instead only a noise like a balloon letting its air out came out of the wand. Ignoring his dad and sisters laughter he turned back to Ollivander, who seemed to be hiding a grin behind the back of his hand.

"Perhaps not." He said as he took the wand from Harry. Ollivander took off again looking high and low. Harry turned to his family with a frown, his dad was sitting on the floor wiping tears from his eyes and Rosie and Jasmine were still giggling. His mum didn't meet his eyes but her face was rigid from the effort of not laughing.

Harry would have laughed too but he was pretty embarrassed, that wasn't how he pictured holding his first wand would go like. Jasmine composed herself enough to gasp out words. "You should, have seen your, face." And Harry could only guess she was trying to recreate what he must have looked like, that or she just stood in something foul. Harry turned back to see what Ollivander was doing.

It turned out he had been watching the exchange with a few wands in his hands, Harry noticed his eyes lingered on Jasmine for a second longer than normal. With a chuckle Ollivander threw down the wands in his hands and began muttering wildly and took off to the ladder to reach the top shelves. Harry liked the man, but he was as odd of a wizard as they came.

With a tiny flourish as he stepped down from his ladder Ollivander produced a light brown coloured wand. "Acacia, ten and a half inches. Very springy, with a horned serpent horn core." He said looking at Harry expectantly.

He grabbed the wand and felt the warmth of it in his hand, the wand seemed to fit very nicely in his palm. He knew before waving it that this was his wand, with a casual wave towards the rows of shelves he felt some gust of wind leaving him. To his surprise he saw that the rows of boxes were suddenly dust free as though he had wiped them all. Not quite the fanfare he had desired but it was effective.

He was too busy staring at the wand to really hear his family cheering and congratulating him, he could almost feel his skin tingling with the magic he had just performed, warm to his skin but comfortable the wand lay. He couldn't hold back the whooping noise he made as he spun to go hug all of his loved ones. Today was the best day ever.

Before too long they had all calmed down a bit, Harry was showing off how good it looked in the direct sunlight to his younger sister, when Ollivander spoke. "I remember how two years ago when i sold Miss Potter her wand, i told you we would be expecting great things from her." Harry saw the old man looking at him with a mix of curiosity and mirth, it was almost enough to give him goosebumps. "It seems i should relay the same message to you also Mr Potter."

Ollivander gave a chuckle and added. "Perhaps I should be preparing a special made wand for you specifically young lady." With a wink to Rosie, who blushed and shook her head. "That will be seven galleons for the wand." And with that they left the shop with a Harrys new wand and more 'goodbyes' than needed.

The rest of the shopping felt less important now that Harry had his wand, he had kept far away from his mother just in awe she made to rescue him from himself, but she had made no move to take his wand, yet. Harry took his dads hand and said they were going to look for some books, he knew his mum wouldn't let him buy books outside of his curriculum, but dad was a good enough sport.

His dad had even helped out by picking out some good transfiguration books for Harry to read, he claimed they were the best at explaining the theory behind the spells. Maybe not the most glamorous of books but if his dad gave it a recommendation then it had to be good.

After an hour in quality quidditch supplies he felt a bit foolish thinking he got one over on his mum, clearly he forgot that his dad basically wrote the book on tricking your parents. He had managed to have Harry try on a whole set of Chudley Cannons robes, before Harry remembered he could try using his wand now. They were both laughing as the owner of the shop asked them to leave.

After a stop at Florian Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor where he had gotten some of the best fudge ice cream he had ever tasted, the family found them selves in front of the fireplace heading home. With a grin Harry rushed to get home, where he was sure he would do as much magic as he possible could, after all there was no law on untrained underage wizardry, he had actually checked.

_**AN: Hey everyone, thank you so much for reading. Please review and let me know what you think. **_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 -

Harry's cart gave a wobble as he swerved to avoid a particularly oblivious muggle, the bloody wheel had been wonky the entire time and his dad wouldn't fix it with magic just because a few muggles were around, he managed to steady the cart before he crashed into anything or anyone. Kings Cross station was packed to bursting point with muggles, Harry had spotted a few people with trunks or owls, but on the whole muggles were everywhere.

Smells of smoke and warm foods hit him and left an unpleasant sensation, between that and the sheer noise of the place, it seemed like everyone was shouting even if they weren't with anyone, it was all Harry could do to stick close behind his dad. Whistles and the loud speaker, his mum called it, were constantly blaring making Harry feel a lot smaller than he was. The muggles rushed past him for both directions, even with his mum and dad and his sisters too, he still somehow felt very isolated here.

He noticed his dad finally turn down to a platform, relief flooded into Harry, not long to go. He had never felt this way about coming here before, although both other times he had been pretty upset that he wouldn't be seeing Jasmine for months at a time, but still it was unnerving he had never really been scared of anything before. But something about walking through hoards of muggles put a tightness in his belly, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva before stopping his cart next to where his dad had stopped.

This patch of the platform was almost suspiciously empty, had it not been clearly so full of wizards to his eyes he might have gotten a bit more nervous. Before long the two families who were preparing to use the entrance to platform nine and three quarters noticed the Potter family, without much shame they approached his dad and kept their eyes on Jasmine. She had a small frown on her face, almost hidden behind he auburn hair that was as disarrayed as harry felt, he knew this wasn't her idea of fun, but she put up with it for the most part.

It turned out the first family to reach them wasn't so much rabid well wishers of Jasmines, it was actually his dads boss. Madam Amelia Bones, was her name although dad had called her much worse after her got comfy enough, she was flanked by a young red haired girl who had a small smile on her face. "Hello James, seems like I've running into half my staff here today, its a wonder our whole ministry doesn't collapse on Hogwarts days." Madam Bones said with a small laugh, according to dad this woman made Professor McGonagall look like a timid kitten, but she seemed nice enough to Harry.

"Most of the people who would cause any trouble have kids who go to Hogwarts too." His dad replied sounding a bit cold. He had heard of his dads opinion of all the families who had claimed some kind of bewitchment during You-Know-Who's reign, none were thought well of. "Lily, you remember Madam Bones of course. Jasmine, Harry and Rosie, this is my boss. Be careful she bites." He added with a wink.

Jasmine was the first to walk forward to shake her hand as she was more used to meeting people, Harry was second and was surprised at how hard and from her hand was. His dad always talked down about 'ministry types', apparently they never got their hands dirty and left it to the aurors to clean up the mess. He gave her his best grin, it always seemed to work on his mum and his dad did the same from time to time, but Madam Bones just chuckled and moved on.

"This is my niece Susan, she's starting this year. Just like your middle one i guess." She said with a warm smile to hear niece. Harry met Susan's eyes and gave a big grin, which she matched just as quick. Feeling the pit in his tummy lighten a bit he moved forward to talk to Susan as the other family reached his parents.

"You're new too, I am as well." Harry said in a hurry. "What house do you think you'll be in?"

"Probably Hufflepuff, that's where my family has been you ages." She said with as much excitement as he himself felt. "And its right next to the kitchens." She finished with a grin. He would have to ask his dad about where the kitchens were, he knew Hogwarts better than anyone to hear him talk.

Harry gave her another smile. "I'm sure you'll be great in Hufflepuff, my dad says that Hufflepuffs have the best parties other than Gryffindors." Before Susan could reply Madam Bones was trying to lead her through the magical gateway, he gave her a wave before turning back to his family. Apparently he had missed the introductions but he didn't mind, the student with them was much too old for Harry to care about meeting them. The tall black haired boy shook Jasmine's hand and quickly stepped back, than they too were walking off to go through the gateway.

"Bloody cowards." His dad was muttering.

"Oh shush James, It's not the place for all that." His mum said with a clipped tone. "Also remember he's the head of international transportation now, you cant just go running your mouth." Harry looked to see the family walking away and noticed the sickly green of the tall boys robes, Slytherin.

They were three in all, and all three had some for of green to their clothes as if being in Slytherin was the height of their pride. The boy was tall and pale faced, he looked boring he doubted he had ever smiled. The adults however were very different, the man was taller than his son but had a sharp pointed face, a harsh dagger of a chin with a short oiled beard. Harry watched the mans eyes sweep over the small crowd of people, his eyes were dark gray beads that held a sharp intensity. He felt that his gaze lingered a little bit over his own family.

The woman however seemed to be oblivious of everything, she kept her head held high and her eyes forward as she led her son to the gateway to the Hogwarts express. Before Harry could get a look at her anymore the passed through the wall, Harry was still surprised that's the wall didnt open up to them like it did for Diagon Alley, they just melted through the wall.

"That was the Yaxley's" Jasmine told him in a whisper and a significant look, the conversation they had overheard was one of their most common talking points over the summer. "Dad says that he was a big supporter of him." Harry gulped and nodded, suddenly realizing that he would be around all sorts of new and maybe dangerous people.

His dad gave one last disgusted look at the gateway before giving his kids a weak grin, he loved his dad a lot but he really couldn't keep his emotions off his face. Without any fanfare they began to walk, well run for Harry and Jasmine, towards the barrier. Even going through it a few times now Harry still felt a tiny bit of doubt creep into him as he approached the wall that looked so solid, he guessed it would be solid too if he were a muggle, gulping slightly he ran a little faster.

Suddenly the loud noise and horrible smells were gone, there were still a lot of people here but it was a lot more private and somber than the busy muggle world. The Hogwarts express loomed like a dragon over the crowds of people, the crimson train had never looked so imposing to Harry, it stretched out well out of sight and managed to fit the hundreds of Hogwarts students.

Harry hadn't noticed he was staring like a fool until a soft hand was placed on his own. Looking up he met the amazingly green eyes of his mother, her smile was as warm as her touch, before he knew it he found himself walking along again but this time holding his mum's hand.

His dad picked out a quiet path behind most of the families so they could have some time to themselves, a few were close but they seemed to pick up on the mood or had already had the pleasure of meeting the Potters before, as they ignored them. "Well you two, this is it." He said trying to sound casual, but dad never made a good show of it.

Jasmine rushed up to give him a hug, his dad wrapped her up in his arms and spun her around. Harry meanwhile gave his mum a gentle hug, he would miss her so much, something in his hug must have betrayed some emotion, because as he pulled away she took him to the side a little way away from his other family members. Rosie was also now hugging Jasmine.

"Harry, everything's going to be all right, you know that right?" His mum said patiently

"Yeah of course mum." He said confidently.

A small laugh tickled his ear as his mum lent in to him. "You remind me so much of your father, lucky you have my eyes though, much better that way. But Harry, I'm your mother I know when something is bothering you. What is it?"

Harry gulped, he hadn't meant to worry his mum, she always worried about Jasmine when she left for Hogwarts. The least he could do for her was make sure she knew he would be fine, apparently it hadn't worked. "Well mum, I'm just worried I'm not going to be in Gryffindor. Every other house sounds horrible."

"Oh Harry, your dad and i went to Hogwarts ages ago so our stories of the houses then are very unreliable." She ruffled his hair with a grin. "I would be very surprised if you ended up in Gryffindor to be honest. You have the best traits of a few houses, and any of them would be lucky to have you."

"Every single house has its good and bad points, Harry. The important thing is that you don't forget that wherever you get placed there's a good reason for it, the sorting hat isn't going to throw you in the deep end." She gave him a kiss on the forehead. "And your house isn't that important, i had friends in all the houses when i was at Hogwarts. I loved every second of it because i made sure to not let anything stop me from loving it." She finished with a hug that made Harry's eyes sting with a tear or two.

Trying to hide what he was doing he wiped his eyes, but he felt a little better. Rosie wouldn't like to see him cry and his dad was a big baby most of the time too. They made their way back towards the rest of the family, Rosie was crying now, she usually did, it wasn't easy to say goodbye to your loved ones. He had given her many a promise to write and he intended to keep them.

"What were you two whispering about?" His dad asked curiously, probably suspecting some kind of attempt to make him look silly.

Before Harry could think of anything to say his mum spoke. "He was asking me for advice on girls, apparently you and Sirius have confused him a little bit."

The look he gave harry was ridiculous, he was actually pouting. "Harry you said you understood what we said. Its all about compliments. Anyway if you were confused why did you ask your mother? She doesn't know anything about girls."

Jasmine and his mum seemed to find that very funny as they both broke down into giggles. He gave his dad a shrug and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, he found himself muttering all kinds of soppy things. When his dad put him down he gave him a kiss on the forehead that lasted for a long time. They both didn't seem to want to pull away, it was only when a whistle went off that they did.

"Give Hogwarts hell, Harry. Remember to have fun, I know yore excited to learn some real magic, but there is so much more that Hogwarts has to offer." His dad said seriously, Harry fervently nodded and gave his dad a grin. Maybe he gave his parents too little credit, they weren't completely hopeless after all.

With many 'I love you's' Harry and Jasmine were standing behind a door to the Hogwarts express waving as the train began to move. Rosie, on their dads back, managed to run alongside the train for a little while before the platform got too crowded. Jasmine gave harry a one armed squeeze, and pushed him forwards slightly. His feet seemed to not work well with the movement of the train below him, but he found himself in an empty compartment, Jasmine followed in behind him.

"I'm going to go find my friends, Harry, you're more than welcome to join us." She said. Harry found himself nodding, he just didn't want to be alone right now. After a few minutes they found a compartment full of girls and went in. It turned out these were Jasmine's house mates and most of them were also teammates on their house quidditch team. After some introductions Harry felt a bit intimidated, they were all so much more mature than he was, and he noticed his sister seemed to be acting different too, she joked a bit less and was clearly in charge in the friend group.

Harry felt his face getting warm, his mother had made sure they all went to a nice muggle school when they were younger, to learn some really important things she claimed. So it wasn't as if Harry wasn't used to being around people, or girls for that matter most of his days were spent with his mum and his little sister. And yet, for some reason Harry's tongue felt dry and overly large in his mouth.

Katie Bell was sitting opposite him, she was pretty with dark brown hair that stopped about her shoulders and had big honey colored eyes. She was wearing some casual muggle cloths, a red sweater and some jeans, but Harry couldn't stop himself for staring at her. She had noticed him looking a few times and gave him a small smile and tried to talk to him, but Harry blushed and looked away. If his dad or uncles could see him now they would tease him for the rest of his life, the way they talked about girls it was meant to be them who were doing the blushing,

He tried to look around to distract himself, but Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet were hardly trolls. Both girls were tall and slender, and they were animatedly talking about their summers. Angelina finished a story about how a boy she met on holiday had tried to flirt with her and they erupted into giggles, when she was smiling she Harry would bet she was one of the prettiest girls in school. Alicia was already wearing her school uniform but she had left the robe off for now, he had never really seen anyone in the school uniform before, and he struggled to keep his eyes of the golden lion embroidered on Alicia's chest.

Feeling a little bit out of place and awkward he decided to go out and look for new first year students. His sister gave him a smile but didn't mind that he was leaving, the other girls said kind words about how nice it was to meet him. Much to Harry's shame he felt his face grow ever hotter, Katie gave him a smile and Harry all but darted out of the compartment. Girls weren't simple, his dad had clearly been lying.

He must have passed ten or so compartments before he finally saw someone he recognized, Susan, she was sitting by the window seat and was already changed into her plain Hogwarts robes. There were four other people in the compartment, a girl with bushy hair was in the middle of talking, so Harry waited for a minute. As conversation seemed to stop he knocked on the door and opened it up, he gave Susan a grin and poked his head in.

"Hey, i was wondering if i could sit in here with you all." He said, when no one protested he walked in and introduced himself. "Hi Susan, Hi everyone else, I'm Harry Potter nice to meet you." He felt his face getting warm, he didn't know wether to give a wave or shake someone's hand so he just stood there with a smile and looked at them.

"Potter? As in Jasmine Potter, are you related to her?" The girl with bushy hair said eagerly before Harry could even think of replying she had started talking some more. "Ive read all about her of course, its amazing how after all these years no one can say what actually happened that night." Harry just nodded, he had heard this before, not from someone his own age though, usually it was adults who asked his parents as if they were hiding details for them to discover. To most of the wizard it world it was a compelling mystery, but to the Potters it was just a reality they had to live with, and they didn't think too much about that night, his dad had lost his parents that night after all.

A blond haired girl had stood up and reached out a hand to Harry, she gave him a smile and nodded to the bushy haired girl. "She's Hermione, shes a bit excitable. And I'm Hannah Abbot, its nice to meet you Harry." She said kindly. Harry noticed Hermione had an embarrassed look on her face, wether for not introducing herself of being 'excitable' he wasn't sure.

"Hey Hannah, my dad talked about an Abbot he works with at the ministry, is there any relation?" He asked.

"Oh yeah, that would be my dad too. He's an auror so i guess your dad is too?" At Harry's nod she smiled. "Both stuck under Susan's aunts thumb." She said with a laugh, Susan joined her, Harry found himself grinning these girls were very friendly. Not to mention easier to talk to, not that they weren't pretty or anything, it just seemed the third year Gryffindor girls had something about them that they didnt.

"What's an auror?" Hermione asked, Harry guessed she was a muggle born student if she didn't know what an auror was, Harry had heard his mum tell him how tough it was when she first learned about magic, apparently if it weren't for a friend she knew before school she would have known nothing before reaching Hogwarts.

"It's magical policemen i think. That what my mum always says to her family." Harry said, he hated his mums side of the family but apparently it was worth making efforts to smooth things over. According to his dad there was not much love lost from his mum's sister, but his mum clearly still loved her though.

"Oh wow, that's really amazing, what kind of things do they do?" She asked sounding honestly intrigued. So Harry and Hannah started to explain, with the occasional correction from Susan. Apparently the Bones family had always had deep roots in the magical law enforcement side of the ministry, although as family started to get mentioned Hannah and Susan got a bit quiet. Harry had heard that lots of families had lost loved ones when You-Know-Who was around, and decided to chalk it up to that.

They searched for other topics to talk about, Hermione seemed fascinated by just about anything magical, so they found talking really easy, it was quite nice having someone think your day to day life was 'completely amazing' he mused. The other occupants of the compartment had introduced themselves as Neville Longbottom and Terry Boot, Harry had heard of the name Longbottom his dad mentioned them before.

After an hour or so a smiling old witch pushing a trolley knocked on the door, Harry hadn't realized just how hungry he had been. It seemed as though the witch had just about everything he could hope for, he was the first one to get up but was quickly followed by Hannah. After he bought himself a few chocolate frogs and a pack of Bertie Bott's every flavored beans he went to sit down, he noticed Hermione peering at the cart. "Have you ever had these kind of sweets?" He asked her.

She sat down and shook her head. "My parents are dentists so they don't like me having many sweets." At Harrys blank look she added. "Dentists take care of teeth so sugar is a big no go for them."

"Oh, wow that sounds horrible. Sugar is the best." He joked. "You should get some, its not everyday you go to Hogwarts for the first time, and we promise not to tell your parents." He added conspiratorially giving his best grin.

Hermione just stayed sitting down looking a bit sad. "I don't have any money, we didn't think I'd need any at school." She muttered. So Harry pulled her up and ignored her protests as he approached the old witch, Hermione was hanging back a bit.

"My friend hasn't tried any of this before so what would you give a muggle born student?" He asked her, they were all perfectly normal to him, but he could see a chocolate frog or cauldron cake being a bit off putting for a muggle born. "I'll pay for her if it's alright." He added not letting Hermione get out of trying some sweets.

"Come on up dear, don't be shy." The old witch said kindly, she gestured to the licorice wands. "These are a safe bet, i know muggles have licorice. Then you have sugar quills, sour drops, melting chocolate balls, cockroach cluster and maybe some blood pops."

Hermione looked almost awed until the mention of cockroach cluster, it wasn't like it was real cockroach, he hoped. After a little deliberation she settled for some sugar quills and a pack of sour drops, she thanked Harry as he gave the witch a silver sickle. Hermione had been a very good sport when one of Harry's chocolate frogs had jumped on her, after she stopped crying even she had to admit it was funny, although with her glaring at Harry maybe she thought it was his fault.

They all had great fun playing with the Bertie Botts every flavored beans, Hermione was shocked to learn they actually meant every flavor. Neville swore he got a vomit flavored one, but Harry noticed he had eaten it all the same so he wasn't sure what to make of it, Susan had the strange idea of eating three at once. She had been unwilling to spit it out, she despite her clear disgust she had managed to chew it up and swallow it, after she was done she swore she would never eat another one again, but she did when Harry offered her again. Hermione stayed away from them much to everyone's amusement, and Terry seemed to have all the luck. He had seemed to enjoy all the ones he had eaten, to the point where he seemed disappointed when a particularly sickly yellow one didn't turn out to be rotten egg. Hannah stayed away from them as if they were poisonous, despite Harry's best efforts.

Before long Hermione had warned Harry that he should get changed soon, the train journey was a long one but having been caught up in all the fun he had lost track of time, the sun would be setting before long and that meant Hogwarts was close. He hurried to get dressed out in the hall, he noticed lots of people out in the hall doing the same, all boys for some reason, he shrugged into his robe and walked back in.

Apparently they had similar thoughts to him, as when he got back to his seat they were all talking about what spells they knew or wanted to learn. Neville gave a short demonstration of a tickling jinx, he tried to hit the chair but missed and hit Hannah, as she laughed and writhed under the effect the other giggled too, until it wore off at least. Then Hannah cast a tickling spell back at Neville.

Unfortunately they were noticed. The tall boy from the entrance to the platform entered the compartment, Harry suddenly remembered the words his sister said, big supporters of him meaning You-Know-Who, he realized the laugher had died. A chill ran down his spine. "What do you think you are doing?" Came a cold snap of a voice. The boy's face was twisted with anger, he didn't walk into the compartment, but he didn't need to. He pulled out his wand and said. "Expelliarmus" and Hannah's wand was ripped from her hand, she looked as though she was going to yell at the boy.

He had caught her wand out of the air with practiced ease, but his wand was still in his other hand. Harry saw Hannah take notice of that fact too and watched as she sunk into her seat. "You are lucky i caught you, otherwise you might be sent home as soon as we got off the train." He said with a tight unpleasant smile. "It's illegal to use magic outside of school you know? Luckily I'm a prefect so that rule doesn't apply to me." He tucked Hannah's wand into his robes. "I will give this to that foul oaf Hagrid, you wont see your wand until you are supervised by a teacher." And with that he walked out.

It took a while for the braver members of the group to speak up, Hermione was outraged and Susan was muttering about the lies he said, Hannah was crying quietly. It took Susan a second to shake her anger enough to start comforting her friend, Harry just watched on. He had never quite realized that he could be so scared of anyone, he knew that some student had parents who had supported You-Know-Who, but it never sunk in that they might be dangerous.

He could do a few thing with a wand now, his mother had seen to it that he would at least be able to look after himself a bit, but he had never seen what that prefect had done to Hannah. He swallowed and realized his mouth was very dry, he noticed Neville looking like he was going to cry too, Terry just looked embarrassed. It was a very quiet last hour of the train ride, all the good mood seemed forgotten in the wake of their intruder. As the train came to a stop they grabbed their trunks and stepped out into the cold night air, hundreds of students poured out of the train like a flood.

The first years found themselves being led to a lake with a fleet of small boats, a huge man called Hagrid had escorted them, and soon Harry found himself in a boat with Susan, Hermione and Hannah. They bobbed along in the water with only the light of some small pole-lanterns, so it was a relief to reach the end of a bend that came out to a magical sight.

Hogwarts stood tall and proud at the end of the lake, it was illuminated by thousands of candle. Harry could only stare, this was what he had been waiting for for what felt like his whole life, even with his parents and sisters descriptions he hadn't imagined it would look half as beautiful.

As they climbed up the stairs to the huge entrance way Harry noticed a lot of students walking around with eyes as wide as they could get, a few people even bumped into each other as they walked. When they reached the doors Hagrid knocked loudly, the swung open immediately and the first years swarmed in. Hagrid reached out to Hannah and spoke, "This your wand girl?" He asked gently. Hannah gave a relieved nod, and he passed it back to her with a kind smile, "Dont know what happened but it wasn't right of him to take your wand. Gotta make sure you keep your wand safe." He said with a pat on her back that nearly buckled her knees.

A severe looking woman stood at a set of doors as large at the ones to the main entrance, she had grey hair bunched up in a tight bun, a small frown marked her face as she watched the first years approach. Harry knew from his dad and sisters descriptions that this was Professor McGonagall, he met her eyes as they came to a stop in front of her, he could have sworn she had smiled but he couldn't be sure when she looked over the rest of his classmates. Very severe.

"My name is Minerva McGonagall, the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts and sort you will all be sorted into your houses." Harry had begun to tune her out as he saw a gaggle of ghosts flying off through the corridor they had just walked down, they even flew through the walls, Hogwarts was amazing he concluded.

The doors opened and the students began to file into the great hall, Harry was shocked at just how massive it was, there were four long table stretching almost the whole length of the hall and a fifth table was at the end of the hall and Harry could see that it was for the teachers, as even from this distance Professor Dumbledore's long white beard was unmistakable.

The whole hall was unnaturally quiet, even filled as it was with students, they talked here or there but only in hushed whispers. He saw some students wave towards the first years, probably siblings, and began to keep his eyes out for Jasmine. the Gryffindor table was easy to find but not his sister, and before long he found himself at the back of the group of student standing in front of an old hat.

Professor McGonagall waited until everyone had stopped moving before calling out her first name to be sorted. "Hannah Abbot." Harry gave a small start and felt a huge swell of sympathy for his new friend, he gave her an encouraging pat on the arm as she walked forwards. She sat on a old looking stool and looked wide eyed at the great hall, before too long the sorting hat was placed on top of her head, it covered most of her face so all he could see was her blond hair move as she shook her head slightly.

Without much warning the hat shouted out. "Hufflepuff" Hannah gave a great sigh of relief and quicker jumped down off the stool and Professor McGonagall waver her towards the Hufflepuff table.

A few students later Harry heard another name he knew 'Susan Bones.' She bounced up to the stool with a grin, the hat hardly touched her before it shouted out "Hufflepuff" Harry started to feel a bit put out, Hufflepuff was meant to be a bit of a joke house, with most of its occupants were supposed to be a bit dumb, he obviously didn't think any of his new friends were dumb of course. But Harry didn't think he would be sorted into Hufflepuff and felt a loss, he knew it was selfish but he wanted his new friends to be in his house.

Terry Boot was sorted into Ravenclaw afterwards and Neville was sorted into Gryffindor with Hermione. The number of students were quickly dwindling down to only a few, a Draco Malfoy was sorted into Slytherin along with Theodore Nott neither boy seemed happy about it but they were far from unhappy.

"Harry Potter." Came the voice of Professor McGonagall, Harry gulped and walked slowly to the stool and hat, he met her sharp eyes and she gave him a tiny but firm nod. He took a deep breath and sat on the stool, he looked over the Gryffindor table and saw his sister sitting near the first years, she gave him a wave and so did her neighbor Hermione. He felt himself smiling and saw McGonagall walking over to him with the hat in hand.

The hat was placed slowly onto his head and her began to hear a voice in his head, or at least he hoped it was in his head. "Well well well... what do we have here, another Potter. Hmmmm, oh, oh yes." It's words said in his head. "Fascinating, how did that get there?" Harry tried to look up at the hat but the wipe brim made it impossible so he settled for just gripping the stool tightly.

The hat sounded almost play when it spoke, as though he was getting some joy out of this. "Lots to work with here then, but where should i put you? Gryffindor wouldn't do you any favors I'm afraid." Harry felt something in him quiver at that,on some level had had expected to hear something of the sort, but to actually hear it he felt like he had failed in some way. He tried to blink away the bitter disappointment.

"Rowena wouldn't have minded a student like you I feel, so much thirst for learning in you. Ah well, somethings aren't meant to be, She never did like to fight Salazar after all. Better be SLYTHERIN!" The hat cried out to the hall.

There had to be some mistake, his eyes fell on the Slytherin table and he gulped, they were a sullen and miserable looking bunch. McGonagall coughed lightly at Harry, and he stood up his eyes wander back to where his sister was, and he noticed her stunned expression. Professor McGonagall was trying to usher him forwards to the room against the far wall. He heard a few people laughing at his reaction.

His feet felt heavy as he made his way to his table. He found a seat next to Theodore Nott and a Black haired girl, most the first years seemed to be keeping some distance from each other. He hardly noticed what was going on as his mind was scrambling to understand what had happened. His dad was going to be so disappointed. After the last student, Blaise Zabini had join them on the Slytherin table, Professor Dumbledore led the school through a bewildering rendition of the school song, he made a few announcements afterwards.

Apparently the forbidden forest was turn to its name and actually forbidden to students, spell work too was banned in the halls, Harry had expected this and he had heard many stories of his dad getting detentions for it. After he introduced a few new teachers, one who wore a bright purple turban called Professor Quirrel, and another who was a kind faced witch who would be teaching muggle studies.

Food appeared on huge serving platters along the house tables, there was a bit of everything, from roast pork to smoked salmon and everything in between. Harry couldn't help himself as he piled food up on his plate, he hadn't realized how hungry he felt.

"Your family been starving you, Potter? Can't be easy being in the shadow of Dumbledore's little pet." A cold voice drawled, he looked up to see Malfoy looking at him, with a sneering smile.

"Not at all, Malfoy." Harry replied evenly, Malfoy was a popular name at his families dinner table. Apparently Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father was one of the worst death eaters who had avoided imprisonment, and that was the kind of person he was now resigned to share classes with for the next seven years. He could only assume 'Dumbledore's little pet' was Jasmine, he almost laugh at how ridiculous it sounded but he felt like Malfoy actual believed it.

"Pass me the ham, please." Said the girl to Harry's left, she was a pretty girl with long black hair and warm brown eyes. holding the platter of baked ham out to her she gave him a small smile as she piled ham on her plate. "Thank you Potter." She said.

"Just call me Harry, please." He said with a genuine smile. She nodded and turned to the person sitting next to her, another girl he noted with long blonde hair that was so straight it had to be done with magic.

Harry turned to make polite conversation with his other neighbor, Theodore Nott looked as though he didn't want to talk but Harry tried none the less. "Hey Theodore, I'm Harry nice to meet you." He said reaching a hand out to shake with his. But Theodore hardly raised his eyes from his plate, he just nodded and went back to eating.

Harry repressed the sigh that was building up in him, he remembered the name Nott from what his dad had talked about that night in the kitchen, normally Harry wouldn't have tried but it seemed like the reputable members of this house were few and far between. Harry also remembered how his uncle Sirius had talked about his first year at Hogwarts, the Black family wold have fit in perfectly at the Slytherin table, and somehow Sirius had turned out alright. A long while later, when the food from the tables had been eaten or just taken away, a female prefect with curly red hair called Pucey announced that the first year students would follow her to the Slytherin house common room.

Harry found himself walking with Tracey Davis, the black haired girl, and her friend Daphne Greengrass who was the blonde haired girl. Neither of them were what Harry would call kind or even good company, but they had at least talked to him and shared their names. As they walked down another flight of stairs Harry began to notice how dark it was getting, apparently the were actually going to the dungeons, he had assumed Pucey was joking about that.

The prefect gave the password to the portrait that guarded the Slytherin common room and it opened to show a dimly lit but warm room. A large open fire stood on either end of the room with lot of seat scattered around the place, there were some bookshelves here and there and not too many people were hanging around. Harry had been expecting much worse after he learned they were in the dungeons, he didn't even see any torture devices.

Most of the room had some green to their design, wether it was the large green run on the stone floor or the green chairs alongside the table. Harry liked what he saw even if the color wasn't what he had always imagined, and considering it was the dungeons it felt a lot warmer than he would have expected. Not to mention it didn't smell like a sewer or smoke or something, he knew little of dungeons but they had a certain reputation, even if this was at a school. He mused on how strange it was that a school even had dungeons, but then again at Hogwarts if you tried to make sense of it you would quickly find yourself with a headache, his mum had told him once.

They stopped near the closest fire and another prefect walked up, Harry recognized him instantly, Yaxley. From what Harry could tell Yaxley didn't notice him his eyes hardly swept passed the first years before he started to talk. "You represent Slytherin house now, so i expect you all to act like it. You will be organized and tidy. Your robes are as important as your studies, keep yourselves clean and well dressed. The other houses think we are the worst house, but we have an honored reputation in Slytherin and i expect all of you to uphold it." He said sounding as though he had learned this by memory.

"We have to share this common room with every other Slytherin here, and if you don't do your part we have permission from Professor Snape to correct your behavior. This includes not putting books back on the shelves, leaving personal belongings out in the common room and being too loud in the common room." He said with a clipped tone, almost like he was inviting someone to protest.

"You will receive your schedules tomorrow morning at breakfast. Do not be late. Professor Snape has better things to do that look after you fools." He gave a small smile and walked off calling behind him. "Boys your sleeping quarters are this way. Come along." His quiet order gave all the first year boys a spring in their step, and not out of excitement.

Harry felt relief well up in him as soon as he saw that they had individual rooms, he had been a bit nervous about sleeping in the same room as some of these boys for seven years. Harry had managed to slip into the one closest to the common room before the others had even noticed Yaxley had left. It was a small room, but it was better than the alternative, a lone tall mirror stood along one wall and there was a dresser for his clothes, an over sized four poster bed was dominating the far end of the room.

It had green covered drapes to block out light, thought being in the dungeons he felt it was a bit of wasted effort. The bed sheets and pillows were a mix of green and black, the house colors after all, it wasn't an unpleasant affect. Harry decided he would empty out his belongings before going to sleep, he didnt have his mum to make sure he was tidy and organized anymore so he would have to make efforts to keep on top of things.

He popped open his trunk and started by moving his books out, there was a small shelf next to a desk in the corner of the room where he placed his books. He separated his school books from his own personal interests, he had quite a few extra book with him, after all there was lots he could learn now. Before long he had ran out of space and left some of the more advanced books in his trunk, he could always rotate them out if needed.

His clothes were put away next, a few changes of robes all now in the silver and green of Slytherin house. It still felt a bit crazy to him, but he felt comforted by his mothers words on the platform earlier that same day.

At the bottom of the trunk was a small hand mirror, he had known it was there but had been avoiding it. His father had given it to him the night before he had left, they had a similar one back home that they used to contact uncle Sirius or uncle Remus. It was a brilliant piece of magic that could make owls obsolete if his dad wanted to, he claimed keeping them a secret was better though.

With a sigh he balanced the mirror between the desk and the wall and sat at the desk. It wasn't too late but he sincerely hoped his family were all asleep, but he couldn't hide this from them so it wasn't worth trying. "Mum, dad, are you there?" He said after he tapped it with his wand.

Almost instantly he saw a ripple pass in the glass, and then his mother and father looked back at him with great big smiles. Despite feeling pretty dreadful he did feel a lot better from just seeing them, he felt his own smile before he was really aware of it.

"Hey honey." His mum said as soon as she laid eyes on him.

"Hey son." His dad followed his wife soon after, he remembered how it had been when Jasmine had first gone to Hogwarts, the day had felt longer than any other. Until today that was.

Harry gave them both a warm smile and greeted them, he decided he would just come straight out and say what needed saying, but seeing them be so happy to see him he put it off a bit longer. "Hogwarts is so beautiful." He exclaimed. Before long they were laughing sharing how they felt seeing the castle for the first time, he almost felt like he was back at home.

They had only been talking for a few minutes but topics were coming to Harrys mind slower than ever before, and his parents noticed his unease. His mum was the first to say anything though, and as usual she cut right to the matter. "So Harry, what house did you get placed in?" She asked casually.

Harry gulped and looked at his hands. "Slytherin." Was all he replied with.

He had expected his dad to be angry and his mum to make too much of pretending it was fine. What he got though was something entirely different. The laughter from his dad made him pull away from the mirror, he was way too loud. He looked into it to see his dad smiling and laughing, while his mum watched Harry with a smile.

"I knew you would be Harry." She said quietly. "You really are far too sneaky and cunning to be anywhere else."

His dad had managed to get his laughter under control, and he looked at Harry then his wife. "She really did you know, cost me five galleons because i thought you'd be in Ravenclaw." He said with a grin. Harry tried to work his mouth. His dad had noticed continued. "Give me some credit kiddo, I'm not stupid enough to think you'd only ever be a Gryffindor."

Harry laugh and mumbled an apology. His parents loved him more than anything and he was foolish to doubt that for even a second. With Harry feeling much better about the whole situation he started to talk more freely about how he felt. "Almost all the people in the house are kids of death eaters, what should i do?" He asked.

His parents looked at one another and after a few seconds his dad turned to him and smiled. "Don't judge any of them based on their family names Harry, if i had done that i would have lost out on the best friend i could have asked for." He spoke with a fond tone. "Just watch what they do and how they act and you'll do fine, I've seen you cast a couple of your mothers favorite hexes so i know you can defend yourself." He finished sounding proud and not at all worried.

His mother though wasn't nearly as confident. "Harry, be very careful. your peers are still young kids so I wouldn't be to worried about them, but the older students can be very unpleasant if they want to be, and considering who your sister is i think they might try to take it out on you." She warned him, she was usually the one to put their concerns to rest with soft reassurances and warm words.

Harry felt the knot in his stomach redouble. "Lily don't be silly they are still school kids." His dads voice said, Harry barely noticed though.

"Harry listen to me, i want you to promise me you will take care of yourself. No acting out in front of older students, do you promise Harry?" His mums voice had a sharp tone to it.

"I wont mum, i'll keep my head down and stick with the first years." He agreed, he had asked for their advice after all. It was still just weird that this was coming from his mum and not his dad, he had been sure that dad would be more likely to see evil in Slytherin's than his mum.

"Look Harry, I don't want to scare you. But you need to be careful. Those families are up to something, the are working together for something big." His mum said to him urgently. Harry saw his dad turn to her in shock and started to protest to her but she went over his complaints. "James he needs to know why he's got to be careful. Harry, death eater families are working together publicly for the first time in a long time. I don't know what it means but it cant be anything good." She sounded a little bit scared Harry realized. "So please Harry, keep your head down and you ears open. You'll do amazing as long as you're careful."

Harry felt stunned, he had heard them talking about this exact topic not too long ago but the fact his mother was mentioning it meant she was afraid of the possibilities. Suddenly it all felt too real, as if death eaters were walking the halls of Hogwarts right now. He felt a huge flood of relief wash over him as he remembered he had his own room.

Their conversation naturally died down after that, not that Harry was complaining he was exhausted. After some 'goodbyes' he found himself laying on his new bed. The words his mother had said rung in his mind and haunted him until he fell asleep.

_**AN: Well there's a second chapter. Please review and let me know what you think**_

_**So my first thoughts were to give the boys a shared sleeping area to give some sense of dread for Harry but i decided against it, I don't want the poor boy being overly paranoid. I hope things will start moving soon, i plan on giving maybe another chapter up to learning how things work in Slytherin and Hogwarts in general, maybe another two before picking up the pace.**_

_**As always thanks for reading i appreciate it a lot.**_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Harry was one of the first students in the great hall for breakfast, apparently no one else was that eager to get to class. Seating himself at the end of the table near the teachers Harry began piling up some food on his plate, out of no where a few trays of food had appeared. The sausages were particularly good, the bacon wasn't half bad either.

As he finished his meal he noticed the great hall had began to fill up, the Ravenclaw table was almost full living up to their reputation of being extremely studious, his own house was about half full. The odd thing was no one had sat anywhere near him yet, maybe all the other first years hadn't made it up to the hall yet, he thought.

He pulled out his wand, it always felt great to actually be holding his wand almost as if he was bursting to perform some magic, he decided he would try to test some spells while he waited. It wasn't as if he was in a hallway where magic was against the rules, was it? The table with teachers was nearby so if he was breaking some rule they would be quick to correct him, and he could easily feign ignorance of the rule if it existed.

He stood a piece of toast up and considered for a moment, with a quick twirl of his wand and a muttered, "momento" a misty blue spell poured out his wand. When it touched the toast the effect was immediate, the toast twisted and bent in movement almost as if it were testing out new muscles. Before long the toast jumped into the air and gave a spin, as it landed it seemed to grab a nearby sausage and slow dance with it, after only a few seconds of dancing though it collapsed onto the table back to its previous rigid state.

Harry couldn't help the grin that spread on his face, he had read that spell in his charms book and was eager to try it for at least a week now. He had spent most of his time with his mother learning about useful charms, not the she neglected other subjects or anything she just had a love for charms. The spell he had performed was hardly perfect but it certainly did the job, he was content with his efforts.

Professor Snape, his new head of house, approached him from where he had been sitting at the staff table. Harry eyed the piece of toast as if he could change his situation, his dad had talked about detentions as if they were a badge of honor, Harry knew enough to know it wasn't a good idea to get on this professor's bad side.

Professor Snape was a tall and pale faced man, he had greasy long black hair and a cruel looking face. A long pointed nose which lead up to sharp beady eyes gave Harry the feeling this man knew all about him. "Five points to Slytherin, for that well performed dancing charm." Said Professor Snape, his voice was crisp and curt, not rude exactly but it certainly wasn't kind.

Harry blinked and felt himself frown, but not to let the opportunity to make a decent impression on his head of house pass he replied. "Thank you very much Professor." He had earned points already, he knew he would earn some points here or there, it wasn't as if he were stupid but he had felt there was a bigger risk of getting in trouble than getting a reward. Professor Snape merely nodded in acknowledgment, he slowly pulled a piece of paper out of his robes and placed it in front of Harry.

"Your schedule for classes, Mr Po..." He cut off abruptly without realizing how rude it might seem. "If you show the same aptitude for your other classes, then maybe you wont embarrass Slytherin house." He said with a glance at the bit of toast, Harry would have chuckled and thought it a joke if he hadn't seen the vaguest hint of a threat in the professors eyes, and then he swiftly swept on down the table to hand out more schedules. Harry gulped.

Slytherin house wouldn't allow Harry Potter to simple get by, it would seem, maybe it was because of his surname but he got the feeling that he would be scrutinized much harder than his classmates. His thoughts strayed back to the conversation he had had with his parents the night before, he had to be smart about things, a lot of his classmates had reasons to dislike his family. Mainly due to how proficient his dad had been when You-Know-Who was around, that and his dad had a certain talent for standing out or so his mum had claimed, and that made people envious and intimidated of James Potter.

Unfortunately for Harry the people who didn't seem to feel that way were the ones who he was stuck in a house with for seven years, not that he was complaining, not exactly. He had never wanted school to be easy, but he had wanted to be tested a little bit less right off the bat. There was a feeling that most of the relationships he made in these next few days would last his whole time at Hogwarts.

Harry wiped his hands on his robes to wipe away the thin layer of sweat, he was only eleven years old and he was having to worry about things like being diplomatic to people who made his skin crawl with disgust. He took off his glasses and breathed on the lenses and began to wipe those clean too, there was little he could do to make his situation better other than being himself. His mum had said she expected him to be in Slytherin, so that meant he had to have some qualities that would make him fit in.

He realized he was trying to convince himself that things would be alright, he let out a laugh and shook his head. He would bet none of his fellow first years had even given him a single thought so far today.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when a pair of girls sat down opposite him, Tracey and Daphne looked a bit red faced as if they had been running. He gave them a genuine smile and was about to greet them but was cut off.

"Malfoy was waiting for you in the common room, he's seriously angry that you got passed him." Tracey Davis said, Harry took a second to notice that she had given her long black hair some curls this morning. She was pretty and from what Harry could tell so far she was friendly too, although he didn't know if he could trust what he thought just yet.

Harry realized he had been caught staring while he had been lost in thought, he hoped they thought he was thinking about what to say and not admiring Tracey's hair. "What does he want with me?" He said sounding perfectly natural.

Daphne and Tracey caught each other's eyes and giggled slightly, not in a mocking way just as thought they found something amusing. Harry took a large drink of his pumpkin juice to hid the warmth in his cheeks, when he put it back down they had stopped giggling. "He was saying he was going to take you to Professor Snape's office and make you join Gryffindor." Tracey answered.

"Huh, that's really stupid." Harry said without thinking, it would seem Draco Malfoy was as sour of a person as his father was said to be. Both girls laughed as though he had made a great joke, well it had been pretty funny if he said so himself, he mused.

"As stupid as it was the other first years were listening to him Harry." Said Daphne, her blue eyes were fixed on him, Harry felt the smile on his lips fade away. She had spoken in a way that made it sound more important to her than it did to him, it worried him a bit. Not that Malfoy had a little gang of friends already, that was almost to be expected, no it was the matter of why Daphne thought it was significant.

There was a layer to this conversation Harry was starting to dislike, almost as if they were testing him and trying to test him. He was thankful for his mum in that moment, if he hadn't heard her warning, and especially from her, he wouldn't have been on edge to catch these things.

Harry tried to make his voice light, to not tip off what was going on in his head, he even gave the girls a grin. "So why is it I'm the one sitting here with the two prettiest girls in the year?" When Tracey giggled and her face went pinkish he felt himself sitting up a bit straighter, he really had to thank his dad and uncle Sirius for that one.

Daphne gave him a hard look, she had a trace of pink on her cheeks too he noticed, but she wasn't laughing. "We felt that you cant be nearly as bad as a Gryffindor." She said playfully, but he noticed her eyes were still watching him in that hard unreadable way.

Harry glanced to see the group of Slytherin's in question entering the great hall, the short blond haired boy leading them was Draco Malfoy. He had seemingly oiled his hair back, which made Harry thank Merlin for his own messy hair, he also had a sneer openly on his face as he walked between the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables. Harry turned to the girls and gave them a rueful smile, he had been enjoying their company even if the conversation made his head hurt.

"Reckon he's going to make a fool of himself in the great hall, and in front all our teachers?" Harry asked quietly, Malfoy was getting close enough that his words might reach him. Harry realized that he wasn't entirely honest about the teachers, Professor Snape was still handing out schedules as were all the other heads of house. Both girls grinned at him but before they could speak Malfoy had reached them.

Harry noticed that other than Malfoy the others had decided to hang back a little way, there was two girls in the group, both of which almost made him wince. They stood as pillars of brutish strength and seemed to mirror that boys next to them, he didn't know their names yet or even care, he figured that alongside Crabbe and Goyle anyone would look defined and interesting. Harry was proven wrong.

Other than the thuggish looking members of the group two boys stood together, they seemed slightly awkward about the situation, but they still decided to join in with Malfoy Harry noticed. Nott seemed like the kind of person who would go along with anything while Zabini was as much a mystery to him as... well a lot of things really.

Draco Malfoy stepped closer with all the confidence of a peacock. "Potter, you chose a good seat, you wont have to walk as far when you go to beg McGonagall to let Gryffindor take you in." His smirk was as oily as his hair, not to mention the way it made Harry's skin crawl.

Harry dismissed him with barely a glance and he went back to talking to the girls. "What class are you most excited for Tracey?" He refused to let Draco Malfoy try to intimidate him, he seemed to want to be his enemy so Harry wouldn't waste his breath trying to win him over.

Before Tracey could respond Draco cut in with a venomous tone. "Listen hear halfblood, you don't belong in Slytherin and our whole house knows it." Malfoy was pointing at Harry, not with his wand but his finger Harry was pleased to see, it either meant he wasn't a complete idiot or he wasn't confident with magic yet.

Daphne broke the rising tension with a laugh, she was looking at Malfoy as if he had said the sky was green. "You do realize you're implying Potter either outsmarted an ancient magical artifact, one that the founders personally enchanted themselves, or better yet that he deliberately convinced that same artifact to place him in Slytherin for his own gain." She looked back to Harry triumphantly, Harry had to respect her logic, either she had just thought of it and if so he was very impressed. Or else she and been thinking on it for a while, Harry felt the need to wipe his hands again.

Malfoy turned to her with a glare. "I would be very careful with how you talk to me, Greengrass, I reckon your father would have something to say about your company." He said with a meaningful glance to Harry. "Although i wont tell him if you stop playing around with these halfblood's."

Daphne snorted in amusement, though Harry noticed she gave a small worried look to Tracey. He had heard blood status was a big thing with certain members of Slytherin, but he had hoped that was mostly his dad and Sirius being silly. It would seem that Tracey was a half blood like he was, not that it made any difference to him, but it might explain why she at least was friendly to him.

"My father isn't afraid of your father Malfoy, just like I'm not afraid of you." She replied tartly, Harry believed her too, the way she held Malfoy's eyes made Harry think not much scared Daphne. Tracey though suddenly seemed diminished in the company of Malfoy, Harry didn't like that one bit but he understood it, Malfoy could make her life at Hogwarts very hard. If Harry let him that was, he mused.

"Fine, Greengrass play with your pet Gryffindor." Malfoy sneered and turned away from Daphne to look back to Harry. "Be careful Potter, Slytherin isn't for weaklings." This time it was Harry's chance to laugh.

"I'll take my chances Draco, my godfather did the same thing just the other way round, so i feel pretty good about my odds." Harry felt pretty good about himself, although Sirius was hardly an accurate depiction of the Black family, that name still held a certain gravity in certain circles.

Unfortunately Malfoy took that as his turn to laugh at him. "My mother always said he was a worthless mutt." He spat, then he turned to walk off, with one last smirk he added. "Thought my father says that's an insult to dogs." And Malfoy was walking off to sit as far away as he could.

Harry couldn't hold in his laugh, as much as it annoyed him he had to admit that one was good, he'd have to remember that for later. Before long Tracey and Daphne were laughing too, though each for their own reasons. Harry was pretty happy with how things turned out, he had gotten a grip of where Tracey was coming from and he respected that. Daphne was a harder nut to crack but there was plenty of time to try, though he would have to watch himself until then, her eyes might be a very pleasant blue but they still scared him a bit.

As Tracey and Daphne ate their breakfast they talked hard and fast about almost everything, apparently Harry didn't know as many spells as either of the girls, not that he didn't trust them or anything he just didn't believe them.

They made their way to Professor McGonagall's transfiguration classroom as that was their first class, along the way they talked about the hundreds of enchanted portraits, Tracey had a gift for making up their backstories. When they reached the hallway with the classroom they fell quiet, they all seemed eager to learn, they weren't even the first ones into the class, half of the first year Ravenclaws they had this class with were already sat down.

Harry looked around, much to his dismay he realized the table only sat two per table, he was under no illusion as to who of the three would be sitting apart. Terry Boot was in the class, Harry noticed but he was sat next to a boy from his own house, when Terry spotted him looking at him he gave Harry a sad smile then looked away.

He decided to just sit in the table behind the girls, that way he wasn't completely alone. As the rest of the students filed their way into the class Harry realized he would be sitting alone as everyone else had a partner to sit next to. Crabbe had taken a step towards the table Harry was sat at before Malfoy hissed at him, and he scurried off to sit next to a now miserable Ravenclaw girl.

It had turned out in Harry's favor to be honest, he had no distractions and was able to fully listen to Professor McGonagall. He could tell right from the start when his dad and sister thought she was a great teacher, she had passion that poured out when she spoke of the subtle art of transfiguration. He had preferred leading charms back at home, he had though it was because they were more interesting and useful, but now he was starting to think it was all because of his mums passion for the subject.

He found himself wanted to try and prove to McGonagall that he could live up to her expectations and even surpass them, just to make her proud. The way she talked about her art had swept Harry up so entirely that when she told the class to try to turn their match sticks into needles he had hardly noticed. He had been paying attention of course, but to actually try and not it now was something else, he had managed to turn flour into salt at home under him mums watchful eye, but Professor McGonagall's eyes were much sharper and more intent than he was used to.

The first time he tried he fumbled the wand movement, it was meant to be a curved sweeping motion, he had managed to basically stab his match stick. Professor McGonagall gave him a tight smile and moved on quickly, maybe not disappointed but Harry sure was.

Professor McGonagall stood back at the front of the class and gave another demonstration, as it seemed no one had managed to accomplish the task without a little helping nudge. it didn't take Harry many attempts to get it down, much to his delight he was the first in the class to perform the spell correctly. Professor McGonagall even gave him ten points for his spell work.

By then end of the lesson he had been able to turn the match stick into a needle and back again without much struggle, he had noticed McGonagall looked pretty proud when he took the next step without being prompted to. He had loved the class, it was pretty much everything he had been expecting it to be and more, Professor McGonagall was a much better teacher than his mother was. Hardly surprising considering she had been teaching longer than his mother had been alive for, but it still had a large effect of what Harry was able to do.

She seemed to know how to push just that little bit extra out of him, and she did it in a way that had Harry thinking about how he could apply it to more than just the spell in question. If he hadn't heard he explain how to envision the changes they were trying to make to Daphne and Tracey, he never would have tried to change it back. Apparently the act was worth another ten points to Slytherin, Daphne and Tracey gave him smiles at that point and even Malfoy didnt look too miserable.

As his classmate left the room he lingered behind, he had been wanting to have a word with Professor McGonagall for a while. She looked surprised to see him waiting behind her, he just gave her a grin. "That class was brilliant Professor, I'm so glad my first class was with you." He laid it on a bit thick, but he did owe her that much at least. McGonagall gave him a quick smile and walked back over to her desk.

"What did i say about not having favorites Mr Potter? On you go, I don't think Professor Flitwick would enjoy having to dock you points so early in the year." She said cheerfully, Harry almost missed a step he hadn't thought she meant all that, he had figured she just said it to make sure he didn't try to take advantage.

With a grin and a hasty "Of course Professor." He dashed out of her classroom, Daphne and Tracey had waited for him, neither looked particularly happy about the delay but the joy being at Hogwarts did enough to counter their ire. It didn't take them long to reach the charms classroom, McGonagall had clearly exaggerated to make him leave without a fight.

They shared this class with the Hufflepuff's, much to Harry's pleasure, he had enjoyed his time with Susan and Hannah. They hadn't made him nervous or cautious over what was or wasn't being said, they were just good fun. The charms class was different to the transfiguration class, Professor Flitwick had decided to seat the class in two long rows on either side of the room, Harry wasn't sure why he had done this but at least he wouldn't be sitting on his own.

The Hufflepuff's weren't there yet, so it left the Slytherin's to choose their seat, Harry wasn't surprised to notice Draco Malfoy and his group of trolls had taken one side of the room and gave clear signals they weren't welcome to join them. Harry could hardly believe his luck, not only would he be getting to share a class with some more friends but he could save them from the company of Malfoy.

Before long a herd of disheveled looking Hufflepuffs wandered in, Harry waved to Susan as they made eye contact and pointed next to him, and they shuffled over without even glancing at the other seats. He gave her and Hannah warm grins and introduced Tracey, who was seated next to him, and Daphne, who was at the end of the row.

"You lot look like you've been fighting, what happened?" He said with a chuckle.

Susan grimaced and Hannah giggled. "We had our first herbology lesson, Professor Sprout wanted to see what her new Puff's were made of." Susan said sounding tired but not unhappy.

Hannah picked up where Susan had left off. "Justin nearly lost an ear, although Professor Sprout said he was never in any danger." The boy Justin let out a nervous laugh, Harry gave him a grin it sounded like herbology would be a lot more fun than the books made it sound. Hannah and Susan took it upon themselves to introduce the other members of their house, they seemed a pleasant bunch but Harry struggled to remember all their names.

"How come you three aren't sitting with the other Slytherin's?" Susan asked Harry.

"I much prefer the company of you and Hannah than those... things over there." He joked, it was maybe a bit unfair to Zabini and Nott but it wasn't untrue. "Malfoy thinks I'm some Gryffindor spy, naturally i think he's a bloody idiot." He finished with a laugh, he was pleased to see Susan and Hannah laugh too.

"Hem hem hem, yes well now i have every bodies attention." The tiny charms professor spoke in a gentle tone, he stood on a stack of books in the middle of the classroom. Harry felt his cheeks redden as he had been admonished, a glance at Susan told him she was feeling the same embarrassment, they shared a grin before looking back to the Professor.

Harry quickly learnt why Flitwick had the class laid out the way it was, precision was absolutely key to charms work, and Flitwick made sure everyone could clearly see what he was doing. It had been different when his mum was showing him what to do, but that had been one on one sessions. They were trying to learn the 'Tempus' charm, a handy little charm that would tell the caster the time.

The first person in the class to cast it successfully was Harry, he had been confident it would be him as his mother had actually shown him this spell before. A surprise came when Malfoy had followed him very closely as the second person to cast it, if the daggers he glared at Harry meant anything he would guess Malfoy had knew the spell too. Harry tried very hard not to grin at him, his mum had been very clear that being boastful was as polite as it was endearing, but Malfoy was too annoyed not to goad.

Most of the class had learned the spell pretty quickly, the ones who hadn't Professor Flitwick was helping them figure out what was going wrong, he seemed to have the patience of a saint Harry thought. That left time for the ones who had been proficient at the spell to talk amongst themselves and so Harry was wedged between Tracey and Susan who were arguing about some singing sensation from the wireless.

Harry rolled his eyes when the girls abruptly began praising some other witch for their music, he was happy they were getting along but they could talk for ever if they had the chance. He caught Daphne watching the girls, she wasn't involved in the talking but she was listening intently, Harry assumed she was a fan of this 'Celestina' person.

Most of his other classes had passed without much incident, unless you counted Terry Boot getting attacked by a shrub in herbology, Harry had been pretty underwhelmed with most of the classes. He understood the need for the slow pace of certain subjects but he felt that sharing classes with Crabbe and Goyle was doing his own learning a huge disservice.

Other than those two buffoons he was pleased to learn that both Tracey and Daphne were both skilled with their wands, they had clearly not been lying at breakfast that day. It as just a shame that as well as they did Malfoy was almost just as good, the boy seemed to be burning with a desire to beat Harry at everything.

He had earned more points than Harry for day of the first week of school, a fact that he let Harry know repeatedly, and he had also been quiet proficient in defense against the dark arts. Despite Professor Quirriel's fanciful tales of dealing with certain dark creatures and dark magic's the man seemed utterly useless at teaching, he had little patience for anyone who dared ask a question or got an answer wrong. But that was the least of Harry's concern, the real issue came when Slytherin first years were taught how to fly a broom.

Harry had been flying for as long as his dad had been able to prop him up on a broomstick, if the baby pictures he had seen were any indication it may have been before he could even sit up as a baby. The class was held outside in the middle of the day, they were sharing this class with the Gryffindors. The tensions were always high when the two houses shared a class, Harry mused.

He had been talking to his friends about flying ever since the notice had gone up, but both of the girls had little interest in flying or quidditch, much to Harry's misery Malfoy was the other enthusiast in his house. The only other person attending the class who would talk to Harry was Hermione and Neville, and they both seemed to be afraid of flying not just indifferent.

It came as no real surprise to Harry that Draco Malfoy was good at flying, he had been proving himself as a capable wizard so far and was trying to beat Harry at everything. It turned out Harry had a bit of a competitive streak, he hadn't really ever noticed what with having an older sister who was always better at flying than him, and a dad who could outfly a bird or two.

So when Madam Hooch was blowing sharply on her whistle at himself and Malfoy, who were both speeding up towards the open sky, Harry thought it was almost a silly situation to get himself in. Malfoy had only stolen Neville's remembrall it wasn't as if there weren't witnesses to prove it, but Harry had been swept up in the moment. They were luck Madam Hooch had overlooked bringing her own broom, apparently these 'beginner' classes were limited to hovering.

When Malfoy threw the remembrall high in the air with surprising force Harry shot after it, he wasn't much good at catching the snitch back home but this was a bit bigger. The ball was hurtling towards the ground at an incredible speed, Harry realized he couldn't reach it in time pulled his broom up from its shallow dive.

Only to watch in utter shock as Draco Malfoy snatched the ball out of mid air, he had followed Harry after throwing it he realized. Malfoy pulled in cleaning to a landing and shot a smirk as wide as his ugly little face could stretch, Harry sped towards the ground, his grip on the broom was too tight for normal control and so he landed a bit wobbly. The glare he sent Malfoy's way was met with laughter from the blond.

Madam Hooch was beside herself with rage, before either boy knew what was going on they found themselves being dragged towards the castle. Professor Snape wasn't exactly pleased to have his class interrupted, Madam Hooch ignored the dangerous stare he sent her way and walked past the third year class to have a word with the Professor.

Harry's eye landed on a familiar auburn haired girl, and felt his embarrassment deepen, not only was he in big trouble, his older sister was here to watch it. Her grin let him know that he wasn't going to get away with this one.

Professor Snape seem to bother with the space in between himself and the two first years, he was simply suddenly soaking the door behind himself and Madam Hooch before launching into a quiet tirade. "You utter fools, acting like a pair of Gryffindors over a remembrall. Mr Malfoy you are lucky there's an opening for the seeker position or else you would be in serious trouble." Madam Hooch let out an indignant squawk but was shut down by a hard look from Snape.

"You on the other hand Potter, not only were you seen acting the fool, you were seen being beaten. In Slytherin house we have standards, you would do well to learn that when you serve detention with Mr Filtch tonight." His words cut like a knife. Harry had no idea what Flitch would set him to do for a detention but Jasmine had made the man sound like a lunatic out for student's blood.

And so Harry found himself cleaning and polishing old trophies in the trophy room instead of having dinner in the great hall that night. Filtch had started by making him clean the oldest one first, so by the time he got to a name he recognized his arms already ached. Headmaster Dumbledore had managed to earn a number of trophies in his time at Hogwarts as a student.

After the third consecutive trophy for Albus Dumbledore's excellence in spell work Harry was starting to get a bit annoyed, no one was that good not even Dumbledore. Four more awards for Dumbledore later and Flitch came to let him go for the night with a nasty grin on his face. Harry had hoped that would be it, but apparently he had to come back the next day to finish up all the ones he hadn't got to yet. The trophy room was one of the least visited rooms in the entire school, Harry mused, maybe Jasmine had the right of it and Flitch really was just an evil old man.

It hadn't taken long for the homework to start building up for the first years, it seemed to Harry that the teachers thought they had nothing better to do with their time other than to study. Harry wouldn't have minded if the homework was interesting, but it was usually recapping something he had already done in class or a slight variation of a spell already learnt.

Harry had tried to make the homework fun by having Tracey and Daphne do it together with him, but Tracey usually just talked about other stuff and then they got nothing done. Daphne seemed to want to do her homework but she also didn't provide any solutions to the arduous task.

Susan Bones had been the one to suggest they meet up in the library once a week to work together, Harry had jumped at the plan, he had far too few classes with his Hufflepuff friends and he had been missing their time together. Harry was surprised to see that more than just Susan and Hannah were there, but then he realized he had invited Tracey and Daphne along with him so others would do the same.

There was Hermione and Neville from Gryffindor, Harry was pleased to see them both, their other house mates were not too friendly to the Slytherin's but that was their loss. There was also the entire Hufflepuff first year group, they wasn't anyone as stupid as Crabbe or Goyle in that lot so Harry didn't mind, although he was slight disappointed it wasn't a bit more exclusive.

He wasn't going to complain thought, Susan had invited him into the group after all and he was thankful for it. After they had met a few times and grown more comfortable with the arrangement they had realized they couldn't use the library anymore, according to Madam Pince they were 'far too loud' whatever that meant when older student could cast silencing charms or other helpful spells.

After a couple of days Susan had found him, Tracey and Daphne and let them know she had managed to get an old classroom for them to use, Professor Sprout had been so proud of her student she had given her a key to an old herbology classroom. Harry had managed to drag another little bit of information out of Susan that she had tried to keep hidden, Professor Sprout had also given her fifty points for her efforts at inter house unity.

Susan had blushed wildly at that part, Harry was amused to see her face turn as red as her hair was, it struck him as funny how her being embarrassed could be considered attractive, but he knew she looked pretty when she was blushing. It wasn't as if he tried to embarrass her more often since then, its just she seemed to take any compliment as a reason to turn pink.

Harry had been enjoying his charms and transfiguration classes the most, Professors Flitwick and McGonagall were both excellent teachers and really tried to push the best out of him. The matter of fact was due to the class size he was feeling a bit held back by some of his peers, he knew it would sound a bit arrogant but he had considered asking them for some way to learn more in their subjects. He hadn't forgotten McGonagall's change in attitude since arriving at Hogwarts, it was mostly that fact that had stopped him from asking, also he didn't see how they could do more for him. So what would it accomplish for him to reveal that he was unsatisfied with the speed he learned from them.

It wasn't as if he couldn't learn on his own or with Tracey and Daphne, as both were showing signs of passion for at least one of the subjects each, he also had his sisters old notebook from her second year at Hogwarts.

His other classes weren't progressing as much as charms or transfiguration, not that he wasn't expecting it, he put the most effort into those two classes after all. But defense against the dark arts was a frustrating class, they spent little time doing anything practical and most of it was copying notes from lectures.

Herbology and potions were a strange type of class, neither exactly needed magic to be proficient at, so Harry had underestimated them. He was still feeling the affects of his poor attitude a few months into the school year, although Neville and Hannah were very helpful with the respective classes.

History of magic was an utter joke, Professor Binns was a joke of a teacher and the only people in their study group who paid any attention were Hermione and Justin. Both were muggle born students so they were very eager to learn of the history of magic, it was just a shame it had only covered goblin rebellions so far. When they got to the Grindlewalt stuff class was sure to get interesting.

Before he was really aware of it they were approaching the Christmas holidays, it was still a couple of weeks until they were done with classes but things seemed to reach a natural dulling. Even professors like Snape and McGonagall who were infamous for their hard work ethic were struggling to keep classes serious.

They had recently even learned how to transfigure socks and other small things into stuff like pine cones, that even gave off the same smell as real ones, Harry was especially pleased with managing to turn a hat into a Christmas wreath. After all it had gotten him an extra five points for Slytherin.

So when Professor Snape had asked for names of people who intended to go home for the holidays Harry was one of the first to sign up, Christmas at the Potter house was not something he would miss lightly. Even if he wouldn't be able to use magic for two whole weeks. He could think of a lot less pleasant ways of spending his holidays.

_**AN: there's another chapter, as always please review and let me know what you think. I really hope you guys enjoy it. **_

_**So you will have noticed I'm already about a third of the way through this year I'm not planning on slowing down anytime soon. I intend to use these first couple of years as setup and relationship building for the most part.**_

_**Thanks again you will see from me again soon.**_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Harry was surprised to see just how many students would be returning to their homes this Christmas, it felt like the entire school was boarding the Hogwarts express again. He couldn't blame them, as much as he had been enjoying school he wouldn't miss going home for anything.

He took a few seconds to help Tracey and Daphne with their trunks, he certainly didn't mind helping them out, Merlin knew they had helped him in with plenty of homework in the last few weeks. They along with the rest of their friends had tried to master a charm to make carrying their trunks easier, none had come close to managing to pull the spell off, and Harry was pretty sure he was doing it perfectly too.

Before long they had reached a compartment with a few familiar faces, Susan and Hannah shot up to give them a hug in greeting. So far only Daphne had seemed uneasy with the casual and intimate way of greeting, but she had gotten used to it after a while, even if she never initiated a hug.

Harry took a second to look over his friends, he had gotten so used to robes he had forgotten what normal muggle inspired clothes looked like, even on their off days at Hogwarts people lent more towards cloaks and robes, but that could be because of the creeping chill of winter. The only person who wasn't wearing full muggle clothing was Daphne, apparently being the eldest daughter of a pureblood family meant she didn't have or didn't like muggle clothes. Harry would bet she had never given the chance to like them, wizards were pretty set in their ways about most things.

Susan and Hannah were wearing the same outfits they had been when they came to Hogwarts the first time, Harry couldn't be sure but they to fit differently now, not that he was staring or anything. Tracey had chosen to go full muggle also, she had said her house was in the middle of a muggle village so it would look strange to wear robes or anything overly witchy. Harry did noticed she seemed comfortable in her jeans and button up shirt and green cardigan, she was clearly more in touch with muggles than a normal Slytherin.

Though Harry was in the same situation as his mum had made sure they knew enough about muggles so they didn't feel out of place if they went out to the muggle world, sure he would never know how to work their technology or anything but he wouldn't get muddled by their money.

Harry decided that the magical world could really use some inspiration from their muggle counterparts in the clothing department. He really wasn't staring, it was just hard to not notice how much better the girls looked wearing muggle clothes. He was only glancing anyway.

Harry was annoyed to not get the window seat, Susan had eagerly reclaimed her seat and Daphne had taken the other with a small smug smirk in his and Tracey's direction. That left the choice of sitting next to Hannah or Tracey, it didn't really mean anything but Harry was aware of the fact that they were girls. And he wasn't as grossed out by girls as some other first years.

He spent a lot more time with Tracey due to sharing the same house so he decided to sit next to Hannah, it didn't hurt that he had gotten along well with Hannah since the time the first met.

"What do you guys do for Christmas?" Susan asked the Slytherins. Harry settled back and let the others answer first, he had actually learned this from watching Daphne, he could subtly hear what the others did before deciding what to reveal. Not that he had any secrets about Christmas or how his family behaved, but it wouldn't hurt to learn some good habit's that would certainly make his dealings with other Slytherins easier.

"Oh the usual, we just hang out and have dinner." Tracey answered. "Though its pretty handy living in a muggle village, they do so much more for Christmas, they do this thing called caroling and put all these lights out in the village. It gets really pretty at night." Harry had learnt pretty early on that Tracey was a talker, usually it was handy to have someone who could talk for a living.

When Susan Bones was in the same room that virtue became a curse. "Oh i know what you mean, auntie takes me to London closer to Christmas to see all the lights and stuff.' Susan said eagerly, it would always go like this when the two were in the same room. He met Daphne's eyes and started to laugh, they liked to pretend to 'die of boredom' when the pair of girls got started. Daphne was taking her turn, her bright blue eyes were wide open looking blankly past Harry's shoulder, her long blonde hair was disarrayed over her head as she had slumped her head to her own shoulder.

Susan had started to laugh too, but Tracey just gave Daphne a slap on her leg. By now the four of them were laughing at each other's antics, it was pretty easy to be happy with his group of friends when they were being playful. So far they had only had one minor falling out, that was when Hufflepuff had lost the first quidditch game of the year to Gryffindor. Harry had cheered for his sister, and would do it again, but apparently laughing at the Hufflepuff keeper for flying into one of his own hoops and falling off his broom was a big 'no-no'.

Harry noticed Hannah watching him when he was done laughing, she had a small frown on her face, he gave her a smile and she shook her head and smiled back. But he noticed she still didn't join in on the laughter, something had bothered her but he didn't know what.

"So what do the Greengrass' family do for Christmas if the Bones traditions are so boring?" Susan asked Daphne with feigned anger.

Daphne rearranged her hair before replying with a grin. "We do presents and a meal, nothing special, oh and i get attacked by my little sister at an unholy hour on Christmas Day." Harry laughed at that, he knew how it was to have a younger sister who got excitable. Hannah was watching Daphne Harry noticed, maybe she had said something to upset Hannah recently.

They rounded on Harry after his outburst, to which he just raised his hands in surrender. Susan urged him to share his story. "Out with yours too Mr Potter." She said in a good imitation of their professors.

"Mine is pretty similar, its just I have a little sister too who is the same. She gets so excited that our whole family gets an extra helping of festive cheer." He said with a smile. He had missed Rosie dearly, she had been his best friend and partner in crime for the last two years, if not more since Jasmine started Hogwarts.

He had made an effort to talk to his family using the mirror at least once a week, but Rosie was usually in bed by the time he had settled down for the day so he had hardly gotten a chance to talk with her properly. He also regretted not making more of an effort to hang out with his sister more often, he could only remember one time when they had actually talked together since coming to Hogwarts.

That certainly wasn't how he had been imagining how things would go, but due to the nature of Slytherin and Gryffindor's famous rivalry it wouldn't be overly smart to be too obvious. Harry assumed the only reason Hermione and Neville hadn't been saved from their study group was the fact that so many Hufflepuff's were present.

There had been an incident one day when Hermione had been getting picked on by a few of her housemates in History of magic, before Harry could step in and probably make things worse Neville had punched one of the bullies. Neville had always been quiet and shy, and after he punched Weasley Neville had clearly been shocked at his own actions, he had gotten detention swiftly after of course.

When they met up to study the next week everyone knew about the incident, Neville much to his horror was met with a round of applause. Daphne joked that she had been wanting to hit Weasley for a long time, the Hufflepuff's were just proud of Neville for standing up for Hermione. To say Neville had received a small confidence boost would be an understatement.

Apparently Weasley had taken issue with; Hermione's choice of friends, attitude towards learning, the bushy-ness of her hair and her slightly too large front teeth. So all in all Harry thought Neville had done the right thing, even if he disapproved of his use of fists rather than magic.

It seemed absurd to him that for a school dedicated to magic they spent so much time learning basically worthless spells, sure he could understand these basic spells were a good way to learn control and delicacy. But who in their right mind though astronomy was worth learning over simple day to day charms, he had seen his mother use charm for all sorts of things around the house, from anything as mundane as washing clothes to cleaning bedrooms.

After three months in school he hadn't learned any form of self defense in classes, not that he really needed it, but when you were in a school with endless kids with the ability to hurt each other it seemed only prudent to him that self defense would be important. With how enmity between himself and Malfoy had been going he was surprised he hadn't had to defend himself yet, he knew a few spells of course but he hadn't ever really tried to cast them on anyone yet, and didn't plan to unless provoked.

The Hogwarts express had been slithering its way down Scotland for an hour or so when everyone in the compartment had started to get sleep, Harry was no exception, and before long one by one they started to doze off. Harry was amused to see Tracey resting her head in Daphne's lap, the girls were closer that sisters in some ways, despite how seemingly opposite they were there was never any clashing.

Their dynamic had made Harry feel pretty comfortable around them from the beginning, he still occasionally had moments where Daphne seemed to be testing him or whatever it was she did, but they had become fewer and he had been a bit paranoid those first few days. As nothing at all had happened he began to grow comfortable with the girls he called friends, and they did too, Tracey much more than Daphne but it seemed like Tracey was always looking to make friends.

Susan had decided to steal Hannah's shoulder for a head rest, her red hair in sharp contrast to Hannah's blonde. Much to Harry's annoyance Susan began to snore. Hannah merely shrugged sleepily at him, clearly they were used to this as they had been friends before Hogwarts, much like Tracey and Daphne. Harry got up and closed the blinds in the windows, both to the outside and the trains hallway, suddenly the room seemed a lot smaller and more intimate.

Trying to keep his mind out of the gutter and his breathing calm, he managed to settled down in the corner of the compartment and not make a complete fool of himself, though sleep was hard to come by. Somehow just being in the same room as four sleeping girls was enough to make his heart race, despite how awkward it made him feel it certainly made him feel special. When he had been sorted into Slytherin he had felt like his idea of what his school life would be like was shattered, and here he was in a room with four of his best friends all at peace and comfortable with each other.

The small smile that graced his lips lingered as he fell asleep.

"Oi, Princess Potter, wake up." He heard as someone poked him in the face. To say he was disoriented was a slight misnomer, as he stood up from his newly acquired seat on the floor of the train compartment. Hannah Abbot was laughing at him from where she had clearly woken him up, the other girls were also laughing at him though, the flush that burned on his cheeks didn't help their mirth.

"Never thought he would wake up with all that snoring." Susan chimed in. Harry gaped at her, he didn't snore. unlike Susan.

"He was drooling too." Hannah added with a disgusted tone as she made a show of wiping her finger off on her jeans. Harry reached up to dry his mouth with his sleeve and frowned when he found it was dry. These girls would be the death of him.

Before he could make any kind of reply Tracey and Daphne's roars of laughter hit him like a truck. Sure he was used to some light hearted teasing, they all did it to each other but usually someone took the victims side. Harry sat back in his seat and tucked his arms around himself.

"Awwww ickle Potter is sulking." Daphne said in a mock baby voice as the laughter in the compartment redoubled.

"I'm not sulking." Harry said trying very hard not to sulk. Stupid girls.

"Good, cos we are pulling into London." Tracey said. "We wouldn't want your parents to think us mean girlies were bullying you Potty." She stuck her tongue out at him but her smile was still its usual genuine self.

That took Harry by surprise he had managed to sleep nearly the entire train ride, not that he was exactly complaining, but he would miss his friends and he wouldn't see them for a couple of weeks so missing the last few hours was a bit annoying. "Why didn't you wake me sooner?" He asked.

Hannah giggled. "You looked too cute, with you hair all a mess and your glasses askew. Also we figured it'd be a lot more peaceful if you stayed asleep." Her grin gave him a slight chill, he had thought it before and no doubt would many more times, but girls were scary.

"Well fine but I'm not giving any of you your Christmas presents now." Harry was amused to see that they seemed to decide teasing him was getting a bit old now. He had bought them all a small gift each, nothing too crazy just a few sweets and other oddments, and there was no way he would follow through on his bluff.

As they got off the train Harry could see his mum standing by herself off by a pillar, he nearly took off straight away without thinking. He turned to his friends and saw they all looked a bit awkward and sad, he tried to give them a confident grin. "I've already seen my mum, ill miss you girls a lot, have a brilliant Christmas." And soon they had finished hugging each other and saying their goodbyes.

As he pulled his trunk up to his mum she wrapped him up in a hug, feeling his breath get taken out of him by the sheer force of the hug he felt a few tears in his eyes. He wrapped his arms around his mum and whispered into her hair. "I missed you mum."

"I missed you too Harry, so so much." She said warmly and let him go. Harry took a quick look around, he wasn't ashamed of loving his mum but still he had to be sure no one saw. Feeling confident that no one was laughing at him he looked up at his mum, she was smiling at him.

"You've gotten taller Harry, and your hair is getting long." She was inspecting him the way only a mother could, it was a small thing to put up with in the big picture but it was a bit embarrassing.

"Stop it mum." He said with a grin for her antics. "Where's dad and Rosie, no sign of Jasmine yet?" He asked.

His mum shook her head and nodded towards the train. "All i saw was you getting a lot of hugs from a bunch of girls." Ughhh, Harry tried really hard to suppress the groan that was threatening to escape. "I'm sure your dad would be very proud to hear all about that. Shame he's at work, lots of raids recently he's been worked really hard this week." She said sounding sad.

Jasmine eventually made her way over to them and Harry had the pleasure of seeing his mum do the same worried during to her. He had restrained from making helpful comments, well mostly, after all his mum really needed to know that Jasmine had been fending off boys most of the year so far.

Rosie was waiting for them at home with uncle Remus, Harry was nearly tackled off his feet by her hug, she was getting strong. After a few minutes trying to make her let him go and stop crying he finally managed to escape her grasps, he gave his uncle a hug and noticed the deep bags under his eyes. Apparently the full moon had recently passed, it always took so much out of him when he transformed into a werewolf, even with ample wolfsbane potion.

He was a usually tidy man, but whenever the full moon poked its head out it shattered any illusion the man gave off of being normal, Harry felt deep pity for his uncle, it couldn't be easy to live with what he had to. His family and Sirius had clearly made things a lot better than they could have been, not only did he have a profitable job and people who loved him, he had self respect and a sense of accomplishment. It was beyond difficult to make it in the wizarding world as a werewolf, but with the joke shop he ran along side Sirius he had managed it.

Harry felt pretty bad as he had forgotten to write to Remus much over the last few months, and swore to himself he would make it up to him. But when Remus and his mother started asking a few too many questions about the girls he was friendly with, Harry decided that maybe he had been a bit too hasty. If his dad and Sirius got wind of the small matter of girls he was friends with he would be lucky to make it back to Hogwarts without being expelled for underage magic.

Returning to his bedroom felt strange Harry decided, he didn't have it as decorated as he could have, but after a few months it felt a little bit wrong. His poster of the quidditch team he supported made him frown, he had forgotten to keep track of Puddlemere for the whole time he was in school.

He could deck his room out in Slytherin colors and with endless pictures of snakes, it would be fun to see if his dad would even entertain the idea. He had noticed changes in Jasmine when she had come home from Hogwarts, but his mum had just said she was growing up and it was natural.

The thought gave him a chill, it felt strange to him as if he didn't know who he even was anymore, he still loved his family and cared about learning magic but what about all the other things. How could he have forgotten about quidditch, forgotten to write for his uncle Remus, it was far to easy to get wrapped up in school, he thought.

As much as he loved his family he had to admit it was pretty boring being home, it wasnt anyone's fault it was just boring. His dad was still being made to raid ministry workers homes without pause, he claimed the official line was to cut down on hypocrites and charlatans in the ministry, he could tell his dad believed in it as much as he believed pigs could fly, naturally of course.

Rosie was clinging to him at any opportunity she had, he had been expecting this as they had done the very same when Jasmine had returned from Hogwarts. Harry was shocked at how much it bothered him though, his little sister was only trying to make up for lost time and have a bit of much needed fun, but he couldn't help feeling like it was a chore.

One day he had asked his mum about the way he was feeling, she always knew how to make him see things clearer. "Harry, trust me what you're feeling is perfectly normal, you've been away from home for four months and you've been learning all sorts of new things. Magic is only a small part of it, you're learning what you like in people and what you don't."

Her warm smile and gentle hands on his own made him feel a bit better. "If you feel anything like i did when I returned from Hogwarts I wouldn't be surprised. I felt trapped, stuck in a world I couldn't use magic in, I couldn't be who i wanted to be. I began to resent my family the first few years Harry, but after a few more i understood. You're learning discipline from this, maybe not yet but in a few years you'll appreciate the times you couldn't use magic."

He was looking at her funny he could tell from the way she laughed, was him mum crazy, he thought. "You're nuts mum, absolutely bonkers." He said warmly.

"And maybe that's where you get it from." She said as she wrapped him in a hug. "Don't worry Harry, just try to focus on being happy. As for Rosie, you said it yourself she just missed you a whole lot, in summer she will be as eager to go to Hogwarts as you were and we wont see her from all the reading she will be doing."

Christmas came faster than he was expecting, it didnt take long to settle back into the routine of life at home and when it did he felt a lot better. Jasmine had made things a lot easier by suggesting all sorts on new games to play, invisibility cloak tag was the best, a 'Sonorus' charm on the feet of whoever had the cloak made it extra intense.

When Harry woke up on Christmas Day he was greeted by a small pile of gifts from his friends, he wasted no time in opening them up, after all Rosie would be dragging him out of his room soon for family presents. Susan and Hannah had gotten him a whole bunch of sweets, a good bit more than he had gotten them he noticed. Hermione had even gotten him some dental floss, he couldn't remember why she said it was important but it was the thought that counted.

Tracey had gotten him a small book called 'Albus Dumbledore: Hogwarts and more warts' by Elphias Doge. Apparently his complaints about the mans seemingly endless trophies at school was reason to torture him some more, he couldn't help grinning at the book though, on the front cover Dumbledore stood tall and young and occasionally sticking a finger in his nose.

Daphne had also gotten him a book, a bit bigger than the Dumbledore book this one was a bit more austere, the title on the book in silver ink read, 'Slytherin house, Greatest of all.' According to a note she had left with it, the book was widely regarded as a definitive collection of some of the best students and their accomplishments from Slytherin house, also she added that it was bout time he had a real book and not some Gryffindor propaganda. Half of the book alone was dedicated to Slytherin and his descendants, it wouldn't make for an easy read he would bet.

The book had many authors as it was compiled from at least one person from each generation of famous Slytherin student, Harry thought it might be a good read, Salazar Slytherin was still revered in his house and Harry knew berry little about the man. Except for his incorrect views on blood purity, he could forgive Slytherin though he had clearly not had thousands of years of muggle born students to prove his theories incorrect, unlike some of his classmates now.

Harry had barely finished reading the first page before Rosie and Jasmine burst into his room, both looking flushed with excitement. Without any complaints Harry shot out of bed and rushed to join them in waking their parents up for Christmas presents. Every year it was the same, his mum and dad would pretend to be surprised at the presents under the tree, as if they still believed in Santa Claus.

After many squeals and hugs, giggles and groans they finally finished opening their presents. Harry would agree they had a good haul this year, Harry had gotten a full set of keepers armor and a broomstick servicing kit, and a few smaller things. Jasmine had gotten a pair or dragon hide boots that she had been pestering her mum about for a while, Rosie had gotten an enchanted doll house that seemed to be alive with movement and activity.

His uncles stopped by pretty early, they always tried to make it on time for the big gift opening, but somehow Rosie was always one step ahead. Sirius had gotten him another book, HArry would have been annoyed at the theme that was starting with his gifts if this one wasn't so exciting. 'The standard book of no so standard spells' was a promising book, considering the first spell it listed was 'the curse of the bogies' Harry met his uncles grin with one of his own, Sirius winked at him and tapped it with his wand, suddenly it read 'How to baffle and confound your enemies, a guide to pranking'

Remus on the other hand had went for a more sensible gift, it looked like a muggle briefcase but it was enchanted to be bigger on the inside, he remembered Jasmine getting a gift like this from him before. The briefcase had many slots and draws each perfectly designed to make for a perfect way to store and organize his school work. He gave both of his uncles an enthusiastic thanks and hugs, Sirius would always get the more fun gifts but Remus had a way of looking out for them that Harry would always appreciate.

The Slytherin common room was the fullest he had ever seen it, the students were excitedly buzzing around their quidditch team as Marcus Flint was boasting loudly about how easily they would beat Ravenclaw in the morning. Harry would have found himself sucked into the excited mood if it weren't for Malfoy standing smugly on the side of Flint.

Term was due to start in a couple of days so it was a welcome way to return to Hogwarts, it seemed that most of the school turned up for the quidditch match regardless of who was playing. Harry was a bit excited to see Slytherin play, he was also curious to see if Malfoy was actually a good seeker or just lucky, and they needed the points from the win to catch up in the house cup.

Harry was surprised to see the older students were also gathered around the quidditch team, they usually kept more to themselves and were too busy with their OWL's or NEWT's. Most of the older students gave off an air of being better than most other people at the school, even with regards to their fellow Slytherins, it wasn't uncommon to see a sixth or seventh year student force younger students out of seats.

Harry had shared the book he had been given with Tracey and Daphne on the train ride back to Hogwarts, he had been eager to learn a few, the jelly leg curse sounded pretty fun. Both girls were excited to learn some of the spells but they also knew a few of them anyway. Harry was shocked to know how many curses both girls knew, he was aware that they knew how to look after themselves, apparently their families taught them more dramatic ways of defending themselves.

They managed to get a few hours to practice the spells away from prying eyes before the quidditch match started, Daphne had suggested they keep out of the way when learning the spells. Her father had told her that it wasn't a good idea to show off how many offensive spells you knew if you had a choice, it sounded like good advice to Harry.

They had been diligent in their learning, first learning the counter curse to the jelly legs curse before trying the curse itself, so when they had all managed to cast it successfully and counter it they were pretty proud of their efforts. It had taken a lot longer than learning a basic charm, Harry didn't know why it had been that way but he knew he wouldn't struggle as much with the others in the book.

As they made their way down to the quidditch pitch they met up with their friends, Harry was suddenly glad they were playing Ravenclaw and not Hufflepuff, that game would be rough. Begging rights were not to be underestimated at Hogwarts.

When Jordan Rivers snatched the golden snitch out from nowhere, giving his team the win the Ravenclaw students gave a roar that threatened to deafen Harry. He watch with some grim enjoyment as Malfoy walked off the pitch with his head bowed in defeat, he had probably cost his team the whole game when he had missed the snitch three whole times in the game.

Harry was annoyed to see he could even follow the snitch in the first place, as he had been wanting Malfoy to be shown to be a fraud, and no one who knew quidditch would say Malfoy was hopeless.

Harry sat with his friends in the corner of the common room where he, Daphne and Tracey usually sat, he was reading about the stinging hex. It wasn't exactly a nice spell, but it was only a sting it wasn't exactly dark magic, the spell seemed simple enough to cast it didn't even need a specific wand movement.

The common room wasn't overly full, as after the disappointing defeat to Ravenclaw house unity was at an all time low, Harry cast a glance over at Malfoy who was sitting with Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy had been sulking there all evening, Harry was amused to see the other first year Slytherins had decided to distance themselves from the blond, Malfoy was probably the least popular person in Slytherin right now.

Apparently something in his thoughts had made its way on his face as when Malfoy made eye contact with Harry he flushed an angry red. Realizing he was smirking Harry made no effort to hide it, Malfoy had been annoying him for a while now so Harry took his opportunity to rub it in.

"Quickly laugh, Malfoy's looking this way." He hissed to Daphne and Tracey.

They both glanced at Malfoy quickly and gave a loud laugh that was sure to carry across the room, Harry turned to smirk at Malfoy who was trying to shrink into his chair. Some other students turned to see what was going on and began to point at Malfoy and join in the laughter.

Malfoy shot up angrily and stalked over to Harry, the smirk was now frozen on his face as he watched Malfoy make his way over to him. He hadn't wanted to start anything, just make fun of Malfoy while he was licking his wounds. Malfoy stopped a little short of Harry and looked down at him. "Got something you want to say Potter?" He asked in a quiet but angry voice.

"Nope, I don't talk to losers Malfoy." Harry replied tartly.

"How dare you, you filthy son of a mudblood." Malfoy spat venomously, Harry didnt know how or when it happened but he was suddenly on his feet walking towards Malfoy.

"You're a cowardly little worm Malfoy." Harry shouted, he felt his blood boiling under his skin. "Just like your precious father." Harry regretted it the second it came out, whatever he and his family thought of Lucius Malfoy most of Slytherin house would disagree. Harry heard a few people gasp and he knew Daphne was one of them, she never told him what her father did for a living but he had guessed that he at least knew Malfoy senior.

Draco Malfoy seemed to regain some composure at that, as though he could tell the room was shifting their attitude towards the two boys. "Uncivilized just like a mudblood, i knew you didn't belong in Slytherin Potter."

Before Harry knew what he was doing he reached into his robe and pulled out his wand, he pointed it at Malfoy and then felt a hand grab his wrist in a vice tight grip. He looked up to see a tall pale face prefect, Yaxley was glaring at him.

"Well Malfoy, it looks like Potter here wants to duel." Yaxley said with a cruel sneer. "What do you say to that?"

Malfoy looked at the prefect and gave a similar sneer, then looked at Harry and grinned. "Why should i waste my time on a mudblood like him? I am a M

alfoy after all." He said with all the pompous airs he could manage.

Yaxley looked disappointed, but he smoothed his face instantly. "Maybe Potter was right, maybe you are too much of a coward to duel him." Harry gaped, why was Yaxley baiting Malfoy, surely they were on the same side. He tried to tug his hand out of Yaxley's grip but only felt the older students hand grip him harder.

"Fine I'll duel him." Malfoy snapped. "Where and when Potter?"

"Right here, right now." Yaxley replied without delay. Harry felt his heart pounding in his chest. He had never been in a duel before, and never in front of so many people. He turned to see Daphne glaring at him angrily and Tracey looking worried at him, he gulped before looking back at Malfoy who looked as nervous as he felt.

Before either first year could do anything about their predicament Yaxley spoke out to the room. "These first years are going to duel, if anyone intervenes they will have to answer to me." He slowly looked around the room as if to see if anyone was stupid enough to challenge him, when he felt satisfied he looked back at Harry and Draco. "Well what are you waiting for, you know the proper positions." He snapped.

Harry quickly moved to stand in front of Malfoy, he had been trying to avoid this kind of situation all year so far and now he had put himself in this one by being stupid, well he wouldn't let people think he was a coward.

Malfoy looked him in the eyes and let out a mutter barely loud enough for Harry to hear. "Mudblood." Harry felt the anger rise in him again, but he tried very hard to ignore it, knowing that was what Malfoy wanted.

On hide third step away from Malfoy he heard the boy cast a cutting curse at him. Harry jumped to the side and saw a shield pop up in front of the onlookers, Yaxley would keep the others from being hurt but forced them to fight.

Harry quickly turned around and fired a spell of his own at Malfoy. The jelly legs curse missed his target narrowly. Malfoy took that as his chance to fire off another cutting curse, Harry had never learned about the spell but he knew what it would do if it hit. He threw himself to the floor, his anger rising. Malfoy was much crueler than he gave him credit for.

He cast a stinging hex at Malfoy and was happy to see it hit his shin, which made Malfoy miss his next spell, a murky brown spell Harry had never heard of before. Harry fired off another stinging hex hoping to keep Malfoy off balance for as long as possible. He had no idea how he could win this duel, he didn't know any spells strong enough to knock Malfoy out.

The onlookers were laughing at the two, he saw the second Malfoy noticed. The blond's face went a purple shade and he glared death at Harry.

Malfoy started throwing out any spell he could think of and Harry not knowing what could happen if any of them landed was dodging for his life. Malfoy took a second to pause and think, Harry took that as a chance to catch his breath.

"Serpensortia" Malfoy cried out with a flourish. Harry watched in shock as a thin black snake seemed to creep out of Malfoy's wand, the snake started to slither its way towards Harry. Harry couldn't take his eyes off the snake and he found himself backing up into an invisible wall.

"What's wrong Potter, snake got your tongue." Malfoy mocked.

"Piss off Malfoy." Harry hissed. The words felt odd leaving his mouth and the gasps around the room made Harry aware of what he said. He had actually hissed. The snake stopped its advance and turned around to go after Malfoy.

There wasn't a single sound in the room that Harry could hear, he took his eyes of the snake to chance a glance at Daphne and Tracey. Both girls were looking at him as if he had grown a second head, Harry suppressed the urge to check if he had. Yaxley was eyeing Harry up in a way that made Harry's skin crawl.

"Diffinido" Malfoy shouted as he pointed his wand at Harry. The spell made contact with Harry's face and exploded in pain. It had hit just underneath his eye and made a deep gash in his cheek, feeling the blood that splattered on his face upon the initial cut Harry took a step forward.

Harry didn't know why he hadn't expected Malfoy to do something so cowardly but it fit him to a perfectly. Harry fired off a stinging curse at Malfoy, who didn't even try to dodge. Malfoy was too busy staring at Harry.

"Wingardium Leviosa" Harry called out with the signature swish and flick of the levitation charm, he was livid at Malfoy and didn't care if he hurt him now. The charm hit Malfoy right where Harry had aimed. Suddenly Malfoy was ripped into the air by his ankle, Harry didn't know if he could hold on to the levitation charm and cast another spell, he still tried none the less.

Malfoy collapsed to the floor head first and a stinging curse hit his stomach as he fell. Harry panted as the adrenaline rush trickled to a halt, he felt blood freely pouring down the side of his face, idly he wondered if Malfoy was okay.

Blackness enveloped him in a cold embrace as he fell to the floor.

_AN: Thanks for reading as per usual, much appreciated._

_So yeah there you have it, some actual magic coming from Harry. Yes yes he's a parselmouth in this story **and no that doesn't mean he's the one who stopped Voldemort** just a bit of creative license I've given myself._

_Its been a while since my last read through of the series so i cant remember if there's any negative side effect to casting magic, (as in tiredness or risk of backfiring or something potentially bad) so if there is I'd love to hear about it._

_Please review, i really want to know what you guys and gals think about it all so far_.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Severus Snape sat alone in his office, as was customary for him of an evening. Rueing the end of his short holiday he gently poured himself a tall glass of fine Romanian wine, with a tired sigh he looked over his lesson plans for the next month. It was lucky for him that his students took to knowledge like a snake took to singing, if they ever had any actual talent for the art of potion making he would have to start advancing at a much faster rate.

He let out a groan as the glass had been emptied, he really needed an extended holiday one of these days he thought for already the second time this year. School hadn't even started since the new year and his head throbbed.

He was no stranger to stress or pressure, he had learned a lot about himself when he had taken the dark mark, coming face to face with his own shame and self loathing though... that he knew he would never get used to.

His office was cold and unwelcoming, he would have laughed at the reflection it cast on himself if he had much capacity for humor anymore. It felt like an age ago that he had felt the burning joy of mirth, much to his annoyance the last had come from Dumbledore, no matter what he owed the ancient wizard he loathed the leash the man had given him.

The utter relief on the old mans face made Snape freeze, he still remembered it clearly to this day, he had hardly managed to look at Dumbledore in that moment. Fear; hope, dread, self hatred and panic waged war inside him.

Snape Stood angrily, memories of that night always unsettled him, he was different to that fool of a boy Dumbledore still tried to manipulate. He was under no impression he was a better person, he had become bitter and miserable in his long years stuck in these dungeons, the fact he had little option in the matter made things worse.

He had underestimated Dumbledore, back then the man seemed so righteous and good, standing in Voldemort's way at great risk to himself. Snape had been a fool, blinded by appearance and ignoring the actual man, thirteen years had been his punishment for his idiocy, with no end in sight.

Dumbledore had taken the scared and broken young man he had been and given him hope and promises, all Snape had had to do was risk his life, a price he had been too eager to pay. Love the old man had called it, maybe he was even right, but it had been sheer stupidity now he had a chance to look back on it.

His words still echoed in his mind as they had that day. "It's over Severus, it's over. He's gone." That hadn't been what he cared about and he knew it, it had just been another way to try and get him off balance. But Lily had lived and that had given Dumbledore all the ingredients he had needed to make of him whatever he wanted.

Snape still had no idea what that was, with Dumbledore's word he was cleared of all and any crimes, he could let Snape live a modicum of a life. He had learnt of Dumbledore's vindictive streak far too late, somehow even this felt like too much.

Teaching two of her children, it was worse than anything he had been made to do for Voldemort, he would have preferred to have died a long time ago. There would be a third one next year too, it wasn't exactly easy to look into the face of a miniature James Potter, but he made do after all hate was a terrific fuel. Rose, he knew she was called would be different, a miniature of Lily would break him.

The door to his office was suddenly flung open, he instinctively practiced his mastery of occlumency, cold anger floated to him when he saw Julian Yaxley strut into his office. He wouldn't have noticed the two first years floating gently behind Yaxley if he hadn't been more angry at himself than at the intrusion.

Snape waved his wand and cleared his desk of his lesson plans, he made sure to note that Yaxley had taken the time to investigate the closest ones. The boy showed potential at times, it was a shame he was just like his father though, a sharp mind didn't need to rot in Azkaban. Draco Malfoy was gently lowered onto his desk followed by Harry Potter, Snape suddenly wished he had more of that wine.

"What happened?" He demanded.

"They dueled Professor." Yaxley replied lazily. Snape wasn't about to be fooled by a child, the almost unthinking pulse of legilimency left him. He saw glimpses of the two dueling, some underlying smugness from Yaxley and a weighing feeling towards the boys.

Snape didn't really cared about what happened, the thing that mattered was the effects of what ever it was. Potter had been bleeding heavily out of a large gash in the side of his face, Draco looked like he was merely sleeping.

Snape cast a few basic spells any decent healer would learn very early into their education, Draco seemed fine except for a pain on his head that would be uncomfortable. Potter though was much worse for wear, he almost laughed at the sick circumstance, he wasn't bleeding currently and seemed at least stable.

"I take it only the house knows about this?" At Yaxley's nod he sighed, dueling inside of the Slytherin common room wasn't unheard of exactly. He assumed that with these two he would be having to deal with this a lot more than he would like, he should have put a stop to it long ago. "Leave us then Yaxley." He commanded, Yaxley bowed his head and walked out slowly.

A quick 'rennervate' woke Draco up, Snape watched as his godson scrambled up to his feet, he watched as his eyes fell on Potter. The sneer that crept up Draco's face was familiar, Snape decided to let him know he wasn't alone. The cough made Draco jump, he turned to glare at him then decided better of it when he saw Snape wasn't in the mood for his insolence.

"What happened?" Snape said using his skill in occlumency to make all of his emotion leave his voice, he found it worked very well for getting right to matters.

Malfoy shifted before he answered. "Yaxley forced us to duel, Potter tired to kill me, he can... he can speak to snakes Professor." Draco's voiced dripped with envy. Snape almost lost his grip of occlumency at that last part, he took another look at Potter as if he could see some new secrets in the boy.

"Forced you how?" He said as though Draco hadn't just gave him reason for another bout of headaches.

"Potter was trying to pull his wand on me, but Yaxley stopped him, I couldn't let him get away with that could i?" His smirk reminded Snape so much of Lucius it made him feel for the boy, another one going down the wrong path. He had made efforts to try and correct Draco's foolish notions but he had no chance when he went home to someone like Lucius.

Despite the boy's boasting Snape could see how things had went, a cheap shot from Draco had given him a chance to win the duel, but he messed up and Potter retaliated hard. Lucius' had the same style, it was effective in a battle but left him weak when alone, at time Snape had wished to have that opportunity. Snape had been in that same situation more times than he cared to count, he wouldn't give Draco the shame of letting him know though, some pride would do him good.

"What spell did you use for this?" He asked indicating the mess that used to be Potter's cheek.

"A 'diffindo' Professor." He replied with a hint of shame. Had he honestly not considered what a severing charm might do to a person? Snape would like to give the boy some real education on actions and reactions but Lucius would never allow it.

"Leave Draco, next time you get caught dueling remember that somethings aren't worth getting expelled for." Snape tried to let some hint of his true disappointment out in his tone, Draco merely shrugged and left. Snape might need to write a letter to Narcissa if he wanted anything to get better on that side of things.

Snape summoned a blood replenishing potion from his storeroom, Potter looked like he would need to take a good amount of it, it wasn't easy to pass out from blood loss after all. He had noticed as soon as he checked Potter that someone had cast the body bind curse on him, he knew it wasn't Draco since he hadn't thought anything through tonight.

Yaxley really did show some good potential, he may even have saved Potters life with his quick thinking and action, perhaps he could get Dumbledore to try and have a word with him. He cast the counter curse and followed it up with another spell healers used to stitch up wounds, he had hoped it would work but it seemed the damage done was too great. He would have to be quick as the bleeding began anew.

Snape sighed, he could cure this for Potter but it would leave a mark, after all dark magic left its traces on people, for better or for worse. In a soft voice he began to chant the incantation for the dark healing spell, it might not be the fastest spell or the safest but under his control it was very effective.

He had managed to fix a lot of terrible wounds using this, even the dark lord had been impressed, it made him feel sick how much pride he still felt at that fact. The skin of Potter's cheek slowly began to knit itself back together, it wasn't slow but the wound had long since stopped gushing blood.

After the skin was repaired he took a second to look over the wound that wasn't there anymore, a thin pale scar was staring back at him, Snape hated having to use dark magic on a student. He wished the boy had been cut somewhere he wouldn't see every time he looked at him, another reason to hate what he had become as if he needed more.

He decided to awaken the boy, he couldn't put it off really, he needed to drink the potion if he was going to make a full recovery. When Potter began to stir he seemed weak in his actions, but once his mind caught up to him he sat up quickly and looked around. When he realized he was alone with Snape he seemed to relax a bit, a fact that managed to give Snape a small surprise, he wasn't used to Potters being at ease with him.

"I've taken care of Mr Malfoy, he went on his way with a warning." He explained to the messy haired boy. He took the bottle of blood replenishing potion and walked towards Potter while unstopping the bottle. "You'll need to drink most of this." Potter took it and drank it without any fight.

Snape felt himself frown at him, did the boy actually trust him so much? Maybe his parents hadn't felt the need to tell him much about what had happened between them, thought what happened to Jasmine Potter he very much doubted they wanted to remember the name Severus Snape.

"The taste is your punishment for being foolish enough to get caught in a duel you weren't ready for, and for not blocking that spell." He said quietly.

Potter nodded as though he was thinking. "I underestimated Malfoy, i didn't think he wanted to actually hurt me." He said calmly as though he was talking about breakfast. Snape knew the boy was spoiled in his own way, maybe not what he had expected but he hadn't seen the horrors of the world yet. Maybe this incident would open his eyes, it wouldn't hurt to keep his eye on the boy for a while.

"So I hear, rather foolish of you to let out a secret like Parseltongue and not use it to your advantage." Snape felt his curiosity getting the better of him, he only wished he had been able to notice such things when he was younger. Potter's eyes went as wide as possible then lowered his head, he began to nod taking Snape's words as advice.

"What was that potion Professor? I feel it crawling inside me." Potter asked.

"A simple blood replenishing potion." He saw the young boy's eye widen again, Snape almost felt satisfaction at guessing the events correctly, the boy had lashed out and forgotten his serious injury until it brought him down. "You lost a lot of blood tonight Potter." He said gently, trying to urge the boy to continue opening up.

"I see, thank you Professor." Potter said sagely, he met Snape's eyes and he was suddenly struck with just how much they looked like his mother's. Maybe it was the fact he was grinning or maybe Snape had been to distracted but they were exactly like hers. "Not the best showing in my first duel."

Snape shook his head distractedly, hardly even noting the arrogance of the boy. He walked over to the door, opened it and tried to usher Potter out, having done all he could for him. "In the future i would advise, if you cant dodge a spell or block it or even counter it you shouldn't be in the duel. Failing all of those Potter, don't fight with an injury, you could die making a foolish choice in a fight."

"You've seen it haven't you? Battle I mean. I know it's nothing like a duel, but it felt so real tonight, is battle like that Professor?' Potter asked, his tone and eagerness belied his age and innocence. If he knew anything about the real world he would know how foolish he sounded.

Snape didn't answer he just indicated to the door again.

Potter laughed lightly. "My dad never talks about it either, good night Professor and thank you again." Snape slammed the door behind the arrogant little shit. The nerve of the boy, and to think he had been starting to think he had some potential too.

Harry found himself nursing a headache, it had nothing to do with Professor Binn's droning voice, it was Tracey Davis who caused it. For about two hours she had been talking at him, everything from how tired he looked to how strange parseltongue sounded, she was relentless. He was glad she had the sense to keep some things to a quiet volume and not blurting it out for the whole world to hear, it wasn't silence but he was starting to enjoy the little victories.

Daphne had been livid, she wasn't a fan of how he had went about things, she had lectured him about kicking people when they're down. All he had done was taunted Malfoy a bit, she made it sound like he had tried to start a fight, actually she made it sound like he was a brain dead troll but he gave her some benefit of the doubt.

Harry had been expecting his housemates to hate him or be afraid of him, speaking to snakes was a famously dark art, so when he entered the common room and saw people nod to him respectfully he couldn't believe his luck. It had also been apparent to him that no one had talked about what went on to the other houses, a rumor like that going through the school would be condemnation for him. A small link to the founder of Slytherin house would win him no favors with the rest of the school.

Malfoy had been seething when he made eye contact with Harry at breakfast, Harry wasn't sure who won the duel they had but he was sure he knew who had lost. He didn't goad Malfoy this time, he just ignored him like he would some dust.

He would need to practice some of those spells in the book Sirius had gotten him, Malfoy could prove to be a thorn in his side if he let him, Malfoy wasn't exactly a push over thought. The pride the boy had was astounding not to mention the self confidence, it seemed he genuinely believed being a Malfoy made him better than everyone else.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when the class was dismissed, Harry hadn't made a single note all class, some way to restart the year. Before long he had found the routine from before Christmas was back into full effect, spending his time with more than his Slytherin friends was nice, he had found Daphne had been looking at him funnily and Tracey wasn't keeping any of her critical thoughts to herself.

Classes kept on with their usual formula of teaching useless spells that were designed to waste his time, he managed to cast most of them pretty quickly, except for defense against the dark arts though. If he managed to keep up with Quirrel he found he could learn some interesting things, not the most helpful though, the professor was still as snappish as ever making his students sit in silence as to not anger him.

Harry's rivalry with Malfoy had grown too, he was yet to be confronted by Malfoy but he knew it was only a matter of time, he had noticed him skulking around too often. He had noticed the drive to be better than Malfoy in class had pushed him to study deeper into the subjects rather than just going ahead, he remembered the look Malfoy had given him when in potions Snape had given Harry ten points for his "flawless" ingredient preparation.

He had been fascinated when he had realized the difference in his favored classes, with charms he had learned that precision and clarity in his casting was the key to perfect results, Flitwick had been jubilant to find a student with some real talent. Transfiguration was almost the opposite, he hardly needed to follow the wand movement, the skill laid in how focused he could be. Not as easy in a classroom with friends and a stern teacher who had a sharp eye, but when things worked out he had unrivaled results, the fully autonomous hedgehog he had transfigured attested to that.

McGonagall had been happy with his performance but she didn't give him any points, apparently not having favorites meant she just had much higher expectations for him. He had been reading Jasmine's old second year transfiguration book recently without much luck, it seemed that while she performed well in the class she hadn't gotten a firm grip of how it worked.

Daphne had noticed that Snape had been keeping an eye on Harry, she didn't know what for but she had seen that Snape swept past Harry in potions and in the hall more than strictly necessary. Harry didn't really care, Professor Snape had healed Harry when he needed it and he also hadn't told on him.

Harry had managed to get Susan and Hannah to agree to practice some spells with him Daphne and Tracey, they hesitated when they realized the spells weren't strictly for self defense but they had agreed when Harry told them some things about the duel he had shared with Malfoy. He had managed to hold most of the juicy parts back, he had noticed Daphne giving him an approving nod when he weaved his way around the many dangerous topics without stumbling.

"What will you do if you cant dodge it?" Susan asked sounding worried. Harry had only asked Daphne if she was able to cast the 'reductor' spell in a mock duel, he was pretty confident in his dodging but he had a plan if he couldn't.

"I dont want to get hit, Merlin i still remember what happened the first time Daphne managed to cast it at the stool." The inch long splinters had given him ideas but he was sure it was beyond him for now, but that didn't mean he couldn't try something similar.

They had started doing some basic duels for practice to try and get into the mindset of being in a fight, Harry had told them how he had been struggling to keep focused when dueling Malfoy, Tracey had the idea to try and recreate the situation for practice. Harry had quickly learned not to underestimate his friends, they had a nothing painful rule in place but that didn't mean things couldn't get dicey.

Hannah and Daphne were very quick at casting their spells, maybe not as accurate as they could be but the others still tried to dodge more often than reacting to the exact spell. Harry was aware that they would need to get over that hurdle before long, after all silent casting was a thing, he knew he would rather block a spell than be put on the run.

Daphne looked Harry up and down and gave him a small smile, she could be pretty damn scary when she tried to be. "Sure ill give it a try." And so they began. Harry cast a few weak spells at Daphne who tried to apply the counters in the time it took for them to reach her, Harry took the time she wasn't casting spells at him to cast some more.

Some simple tricks he had been trying out were becoming a habit for him Susan had said, Harry noticed that when he had cast a tickling hex at Daphne he followed it up with the body bind curse. Susan was right, he had been doing that for about two weeks now, it wasn't even an effective combination as Daphne proved when she shot a spout of water at him.

Harry felt himself trip on the now slick floor, before he could catch his balance Daphne cast the 'reductor' towards him, he heard Susan and Hannah gasp. The spell was quick in the air, nothing at all like the weak and useless spells they had been using before, Harry knew he wouldn't be able to dodge this spell. It wasn't what he had been expecting but he had everything he needed.

A freezing charm on the puddle of water was easy enough due to his proximity, the next part was the tough part. He focused on raising a small pillar of ice to get in between the spell and himself, as soon as the first piece of ice began to raise up off the floor it exploded. Powdered ice crystals seemed to rain down on him, he stood transfixed by the spectacle.

Daphne had either missed her target or aimed slightly off, either way Harry was relieved, he hadn't managed to be fast enough to pull of the stunt he had wanted. He saw Daphne looking at him with a small smile, she nodded at him and he copied her.

"You managed to cast it much better this time Daphne." Harry told her as they went to sit on a bench in the empty former herbology class.

Daphne laughed a warm and prettily. "Of course i did Harry, I'm not Malfoy I'm actually capable of learning things." She said as she gave Harry a hard look. "Your transfiguration was risky, I'm not even sure McGonagall could have done that."

Harry guffawed, McGonagall was second to only Dumbledore at the art of transfiguration. "She could have turned your shoes into trolls and given you detention in the time it took me to do what i did." Harry knew what she had been getting at though, he knew transfiguration in a fight wasn't easy but that didn't mean it wasn't effective. That annoying book about Dumbledore had taught him that much.

The headmaster of Hogwarts was famous for many things, dueling wasn't exactly one of those though, and not from lack of skill on his part. According to people who knew Dumbledore in his youth he had always had a way with battle transfiguration, and when Harry had read descriptions of some of the creative ways Dumbledore had subdued dark wizards in his day made Harry eager to try his hand at it.

His own dad was known for being skilled in transfiguration, Harry assumed his dad had made a similar leap, it was a shame he didn't like talking about his work much Harry could have talked for hours about what he thought was possible.

After a few months Harry had noticed that things in Slytherin house had reverted back to the old ways, people seemed to remember he was a simple first year and not worth much more than a glance. It didn't matter much to Harry, although he had enjoyed the perks of being a little bit respected, no one other than second years had given him their seats in the common room but it was better than sitting in a cold corner.

The final game for Slytherin was coming up and they would need a big win to have a chance of winning the house cup, even with them beating Hufflepuff. Hannah and Susan had been livid to see the snitch in Malfoy's hand, Harry had to give it to Malfoy he had gotten a lot better, for a first year he had played really well.

Gryffindor were another prospect entirely though, unbeaten in seven straight games, as the Weasley twins liked to tell the school. It was an impressive record that spanned two and a half years, one that Harry could only assume would continue despite the best efforts of his house. Jasmine had been of fire too, not missing a single snitch in any of the games this year, so when Harry had went to talk with her the day before the game to wish her luck she had scoffed at him.

"I dont need luck, I'm going to be up against Malfoy, that grease ball couldn't catch a snitch unless it was near some hair product." They shared laughter as they walked together. Harry had missed spending time with his sister, he had always assumed when he went to Hogwarts they would be inseparable but as time went on Harry found himself wanting to spend time with his friends more than Jasmine.

It wasn't as though he didn't want to spend time with her, he just enjoyed his friends that much. "I wouldn't be so sure, he might be inbred but he's good at one or two things." He retorted, it felt strange almost coming to Malfoy's defense.

Jasmine gave him a grin, she was getting really tall Harry felt as though she might be as tall as dad was now. "You're a strange little snake Harry. I thought you all loved each other and hated the rest of us good and kind people." She joked.

Harry gave her a sad smile. "With some Slytherin's there's only so much i can work with."

"What's that supposed to mean Potter." A gruff voice from around the corner called. Harry looked at Jasmine hastily, they were in the sixth floor in a particularly unexplored part of the floor. Harry saw four people walk out from the end of the hall, all were Slytherins, Harry only knew two of them.

Malfoy was stalking at the back of the group looking nervous, when their eyes met his face held an eager twist to his features. Marcus Flint led the group, walking lazily at them with his wand in his hand. The fifth year student wasn't exactly respected for much else other than his viciousness on a quidditch pitch, Harry wondered if that carried over to his wand work.

"Looks like we got two birds with one stone." Flint said to the two flanking him, Harry knew them as third year boys, they both had their wands in hand. Jasmine had began to step in front of Harry as if to protect him from the four by herself, Harry pulled his own wand out and brushed her to the side again.

Jasmine growled in frustration, clearly not liking her odds, she didn't know much about Harry's abilities, though to be fair harry didn't either as he had only been tested once and that was by the obviously weakest person there. He might not know as many spells as the others but he was confident he had better strategies than them, training with Daphne had made that much a necessity.

Flint seemingly wanted to get things over with quickly as he cast a cutting curse in their general direction, Harry was amused to see it go wide of the both of them, accuracy was a very underrated talent it would seem. Jasmine darted into action throwing out a few full body bind curses at the students, she aimed for the two third years instead of going for Flint. Harry followed her lead, as he was sure she knew those two better than he did, he didn't want to be the main target of their attacks, it seemed Jasmine was their main goal here.

Firing out a small jet of water at the third years which fell a little short Harry motioned to Jasmine to walk back, he was pleased to see her follow along. An 'expelliarmus' came out of nowhere and ripped Jasmine's wand out of her hand, luckily it landed between the two groups. Harry regretted not taking any time to learn the summoning charm. The two third years darted forwards, splashing slightly in the water, Malfoy was still lingering behind waiting for his chance Harry realized.

Flint managed to reach Jasmine's wand before she had, they had been quick Harry thought, much faster to reach the distance than he was expecting. He put that out of his mind as he cast as powerful of a freezing charm as he could on the floor, the sudden burst of ice seemed to shatter towards the Slytherins, the water on the floor was nearly useless on its own even turning into ice as it was.

Harry quickly cast another jet of water at the Third years, he managed to douse their robes and school uniforms in water, it quickly froze them in place below the waist. Their wands were still able to be used though as they casted some cutting curses at Harry, one caught the side of his leg but it didn't hurt too much, the other sailed past him without any concern.

Harry suddenly felt his legs wobble beneath him, and he fell hard to the floor. His legs continued to shake randomly and aggressively. He could see Jasmine wrestling her wand out of Flints hand, and his eyes fell on Malfoy who had his wand pointed at him. Harry swore loudly as he realized what had happened.

He was a fool to forget about Malfoy, he might be a first year, but so was Harry after all. He cast the counter curse as quickly as he could knowing Malfoy was about to cast something nasty at him. Harry scrambled quickly to his feet, ready to dodge the attack that wasn't coming.

The 'Serpensortia' that Malfoy chose to cast wasn't aimed at Harry, it was aimed at Jasmine, who was still fighting with Flint for her wand. Harry had to stop the two third years and protect his sister as soon as possible, he was at a loss for ideas. The last thing he wanted to do was speak Parseltongue in front of his sister, he had no idea what she would make of his little talent. It gave Harry a shiver of fear. And Malfoy knew it. A long pitch black snake darted towards the wrestling Jasmine.

Inspiration struck Harry, he had never managed to cast a good reductor curse before but he didn't need a perfect spell. He took his aim between the two third years and fired his spell. As it whizzed at the two immobile third years it hit into a magical shield and fizzled out into nothing.

One of the third years had blocked his spell with a startled look at him, the other had retaliated and cast a bludgeoning hex at Harry.

As he landed harshly against the wall of the corridor he tried to catch his breath, he looked up to see Jasmine but he couldn't focus properly. Heat radiated down the corridor and a loud scream hit Harry's ears, it wasn't a girls he was pleased to notice. Scrambling to his feat he fought his wobbly feet for any balance he could manage. His head rang with the impact he had suffered.

Jasmine stood with her wand pointed at Flint, she had cast flames at Flint and he stumbled backwards as his previously frozen feet were enveloped with green flames. Harry watched as she blocked a bludgeoning spell that was cast at her before she launched her counter attack. Harry knew she hadn't seen the thin long snake making its way towards her, he didn't trust himself to cast a banishing charm at the snake as it was closing in on Jasmine, and he was still feeling his head ring.

The desperate hiss that left his mouth seemed to kill all other sounds, he commanded the snake to back off, and it did instantly without any fight. As it slunk away into the depths of the hallway he saw Jasmine turn to look at him, the look of shock on her face burned into him. Feeling anger give him some semblance of control over himself, he cast quickly, a reductor towards the two third years again, this time he hit the floor in front of where the shield had appeared last time.

Small chunks of rubble were launched into the air and Harry wasted no time in banishing them toward the third years. They hit squarely in their midriffs and they collapsed as the wind was crushed out of them. Harry tried to banish a block of stone at Malfoy but he noticed the boy had ran off. Bloody coward, he thought.

The anger that surged through him wasn't for the two third year student really, Malfoy was the source of it. The damage he had done was personal. Somehow he knew that this was Malfoy's work, he couldn't trust that Flint managed to think for himself. He could tell by the way Jasmine had looked at him when he spoke to the snake.

Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall came around the corner at a brisk walk, both had concern and anger warring on their faces. Malfoy followed behind them with a smug grin. Dumbledore took care of the students quickly and efficiently, before long Harry and Jasmine were helping the two third year students into beds in the hospital wing.

No one had talked after Dumbledore had given orders to them, Harry had managed to catch his sisters eye but she was as scared as he was. She knew they were in trouble. Professor McGonagall had stayed behind to clean up the corridor. Harry and Jasmine stood together to one side of the hospital wing and Dumbledore gently lowered Marcus Flint into an empty bed.

Madam Pomfrey had began working her magic as soon as she had them safely in their beds, and before long she had both third years awake and recovering, Flint joined them soon after. Harry and Jasmine found themselves watching Dumbledore as he surveyed them over his half moon spectacles, the look he gave them spoke of hurt and utter disappointment.

The door to the hospital wing opened and Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape stood waiting, Dumbledore rose slowly and ushered them out of the hospital wing. The weight of the world seemed on both their shoulders as they followed the three formidable teachers. As a gargoyle statue spun to unveil a flight of stairs Harry knew where they were the headmasters office.

Jasmine managed to move before he did, she was a Gryffindor after all. The office was a cluttered mess of odd and ends, mismatched items seemed scattered aimlessly and ancient book lay half opened on the floor below giant bookshelves. Harry was almost able to forget how horrible he felt when he had a chance to study perhaps the most incredible room he had ever seen.

Dumbledore sat behind his large imposing desk and settled his hands in front of his face to hide his mouth, Snape and McGonagall took up spots either side of him with practiced grace. The three of them looked at them with no pity or sympathy, just anger and disappointment.

Dumbledore broke the tension. "Would you care to explain what happened today, and why you were caught dueling other students in the hall?" His soft voice sounded like it fit the age of the wizard. The sheer disappointment made Harry look away from his headmaster, Jasmine had managed to keep her head up. A trill came from the side of the room, a small red gold bird croaked out a song that made Harry feel warm, the bird was young, maybe a few months old. He knew it wasn't thought, this was the headmasters famous Phoenix.

"We... Harry and I were catching up, talking about classes and quidditch, next thing we know we are in the sixth floor corridor and Flint; Talbot, Irons and Malfoy were walking towards us. Flint fired a cutting curse at me and then I started to fight back." Her voice was strong and confident, she didn't think they were in the wrong and had faith they could get out of this with being expelled. Harry wished he could share her optimism.

Dumbledore's eyes were fixed on Jasmine, as if waiting to catch her in a lie, Harry felt suddenly as though he needed to help her. "They were looking for one of us, Flint said they caught two birds with one stone." He spoke, feeling as though he had rudely interrupted something private.

Dumbledore turned his gaze to Harry, and spoke softly. "Do you have any idea's as to who they were targeting?" His polite tone almost made Harry forget that they weren't here for a casual chat.

"I would guess Jasmine, she is the Gryffindor seeker after all, and Flint went for her first instead of me." He said cautiously, he didn't think Dumbledore knew about what had happened early in January, so he wasn't going to just go out and admit it.

"It certainly seems so." Dumbledore said mildly, his eyes were fixed on Harry's though, with an intensity he had never experienced. Harry suddenly felt that he was being weighed by Dumbledore, and he had no idea what the old man could learn from it.

Professor Snape spoke as if he was letting a thought out by accident. "I find it odd, that these two managed to not only overcome their four attackers but do so while being ambushed." He left a pause to hang in the room before adding his last thought. "Irons and Talbot happen to be very quiet student who dont step out of line, not to mention reasonably talented in their own ways."

Professor McGonagall visibly bristled. "Are you saying you think these two set about to attack these other four students? A third year and a first year, going out of their way to target a fifth year and two third years? Severus whatever wrong these two have done today it wasn't being that foolish." Her tone was protective but Harry could feel that she wasn't interested in protecting them against punishment

Professor Snape merely shrugged casually. "I was just commenting how out of character it was for those two students. As we know its not unlike a Potter to behave this way." Snape finished quickly.

"Severus..." Dumbledore warned quietly. Harry felt his mind racing, Snape was implying that his dad had been a bully. He knew his mother had hardly been a fan of his dad until they were a bit older, but he had never though why that might have been. And his mother had also mentioned a friend from before Hogwarts called Severus... Suddenly things seemed so clear to Harry, he knew why his sister always complained about the Professor.

That didn't explain what had happened when Harry had been hurt earlier that year though.

"Regardless of those small matters." Dumbledore continued, he looked at both of them before sighing tiredly. "Filius has told me you have quite a hand for charm work Mr Potter, tell me can you perform the 'sonorus' charm?" He asked as though just making conversation. At Harry's nod, he gave him a small smile and nodded back. "So why is it you chose to fight back, why did you not call for help?"

"I didn't consider it an option professor, they were trying to hurt Jasmine and i wanted to protect her." Harry answered as honestly as he could, he felt he wouldn't get away with any lies in this company. He saw Dumbledore crook an eyebrow at his comment, and looked away with a small amount of shame.

"And you Miss Potter, why didn't you try to get a teacher instead of fighting?" He asked.

Jasmine spoke up quickly and confidently. "I tried to protect Harry, and we did try to get away, Harry froze the path between us and them, but Irons managed to disarm me before we could get away." Harry instantly wished he could be elsewhere, all the adults watched him. Harry would bet that only Voldemort would make the situation worse.

The silence dragged on as Harry sat still trying to school his features into stillness, he didn't last as long as he would have liked as he began to fidget.

"A clever idea Mr Potter." Dumbledore complimented with a genuine smile. "Tell me what did you do next, with your sister disarmed and against at least two older students?" Harry sighed, he heard Jasmine groan beside him, she had realized what she had done when she implicated Harry as the main perpetrator.

"I froze them in place further and tried to help Jasmine so we could leave." He said slowly, he really didn't want to have to explain more.

McGonagall spoke up in her usual firm voice. "That doesn't quite explain what we came into in that hallway."

Harry gave a dejected sigh, they wouldn't let him try and get out of saying it. "I had to try and stop the two third years from attacking me or Jasmine, so i cast a 'reductor' between them. Not to hurt them, just to shake them up a bit, but they blocked it and cast another spell at me. When i got up i was against a wall and my head hurt." He didn't need to tell them he knew what a bludgeoning hex was.

None of the teachers spoke they just waited, Jasmine sat beside him looking like she was thinking hard. "So Jasmine managed to get her wand back and i cast another 'reductor' at the floor between the two of them and banished the rocks that came up towards them." When he finished he felt like he had done pretty well, he hadn't mentioned the snake at all.

Dumbledore frowned as he mulled things over, Harry couldn't tell if he was impressed or if he was angry, as seconds began to stretch into minutes Harry sank into his seat. "I wish i could commend you for creative use of some rather simple spells, even if they are a bit advanced for a first year i might add. However, i will stress the importance of what you did here today."

"You are, i am told, both becoming influential in your own houses." Dumbledore said as both Professors shifted nervously. "And as such, should such displays become a more common occurrence, i would be hard pressed to keep students safe. Therefor i will have to give you all fitting punishments."

Harry gulped, he might not have attacked fellow students but he knew Dumbledore knew he had went out of his way to hurt them. The evidence was there for him to see and he didn't think he had managed to get anything by the man, well except for the snake.

"Jasmine you are banned from playing your last quidditch game this year, Minerva and Oliver Wood will find a replacement for tomorrow. And you have lost one hundred points for Gryffindor house." He said calmly and turned to Harry. "Harry you also have lost your house one hundred points, perhaps another set of detentions with Mr Flitch in the Trophy room will teach you some restraint."

Harry and Jasmine knew a dismissal when they heard it, they nearly raced down the stairs.

_AN: Thanks for reading. _

_So i added a Snape POV at the start, i was hesitant to do it as I've found it can be a slippery slope, i think it works to how i want it to. _


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The common room buzzed with cold excitement Harry noted, every student in the house was gathered as per Professor Snape's instruction, this must be what a witch burning looked like for the poor muggles who had tried to eradicate magic. Angry murmurs filled the large cold dungeon, a few groups of older students shot Harry unreadable looks, Harry had only noticed when Daphne had pointed them out to him. One group in particular gave Harry chills, Yaxley was the leader of that group he knew.

They were an odd mix, a couple of students from most of the year groups, only the sixth and seventh years had more than two people in the group. Even they listened to Yaxley and did what he said, he hadn't needed Daphne's help in figuring out what that meant, despite what Daphne would say.

"Here's Count Snapeula." Tracey whispered loudly for the other two to hear. Professor Snape glided into the room, it was as though he wasn't affected by air the same way everyone else was. The common room was silenced as effectively as if it really would be a witch burning, Harry hoped it wouldn't be a wizard burning after the points he had managed to lose for his house.

Snape made his way to the far wall and turned to glare at his students, his face was impassive of any emotion which seemed to emphasize the outrage clear in his cold eyes. Harry had heard of dementors and figured Snape had learned to go study from them, the entire house seemed transfixed by their head of house.

Professor Snape had a healthy reputation in Hogwarts for a reason, anger wasn't a common emotion for the students to see, Harry could see that even Yaxley was focused and attentive. Four pairs of feet shuffled behind Snape's and Harry recognized Draco Malfoy and his 'friends', they looked like they had been alone with Snape for a while if their pale faces and wide eyes were anything to go by.

Harry tried not to smile as he noticed the obvious distress in the four, he had yet to tell Daphne and Tracey about what had happened before dinner, something told him they would be learning soon. Apparently Snape wanted this punishment to be public and unmissable, Harry would relish in the moment. He felt bad for them in some way, it would be humiliating, well if he knew Professor Snape at all it would be.

Still they had either tried to incapacitate his sister so she couldn't play tomorrow or they had been after him, he knew he would catch an earful from Daphne if he ever told her he would have spared them this. The blonde girl had a vicious streak, he was just lucky she hadn't had a chance to act out on it if what she said sometimes was actually how she felt.

Muttering and pointing had begun as the boys stood slightly in front of Professor Snape, Malfoy flushed an angry sickly purple color and glared hate at Harry, Harry allowed himself the one small smirk. Daphne stamped on his foot with a sharp look towards Snape, apparently Harry had been caught gloating, he gulped and met Snape's eyes. Harry couldn't read anything in his expression but he knew the man wanted to drag him over there too.

"These four children," Snape spoke quietly but with a force that made the room assume its silent state once more. "Have managed to lose Slytherin house four hundred points today." The room burst into noise at once, usually Snape would have quelled such a display instantly but he let it go on. Harry could tell the man was seething under his cool exterior.

"This is the least of their punishments." He continued when the crowd began to quieten. "Dumbledore has let me know that attacking fellow students is reprehensible. As such Marcus Flint will no longer be acting Quidditch captain, also he is banned from participating in any Hogwarts run quidditch match." The common room didn't erupt at this pronouncement.

Harry felt the stirrings of people around him, they weren't angry at Flint anymore, they were angry at Snape. Flint may be many things, Harry mused, intelligent wasn't one of them but the house knew he could make a quidditch team play decently. Harry quickly scanned the room feeling a small ball of nervousness swell up inside him, Flint stared hatred at him just as Malfoy had. Mostly small groups of students seemed to be just staring at Snape in disbelief, the only person Harry could notice who didn't react that way was Yaxley.

Yaxley just watched Snape with a calculating look, as Harry watched Yaxley slowly turned his head to meet eyes with Harry. Before Harry could pretend to have been looking around the room he noticed a small smirk appear on Yaxley's face. Harry felt a cold chill, Yaxley unnerved him unlike anyone else, he was far too confident and far too aware of Harry for his liking.

Snape waved Flint back and gestured to Irons. "It was also implied that if Jeremy Irons keeps his place as the leader of the gobstones club that a new one would be formed. That decision is up to him." Snape said with an empty smile to the tallest of the boys, his long dark hair made him look a little like Snape but his face was full of shock and misery, something Snape would never show.

Harry had never had much interaction with him but he could tell this was as big for him as it was for Flint, he didn't know how to feel. It could have easily been himself or his sister who had to visit Madam Pomfrey after their attack, it would have been if he hadn't been trying to learn more useful magic with his friends. He still couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't right. He made himself look into Jeremy's eyes and tried to keep his internal struggle off his face, he never looked Harry's way though after Snape had broken eye contact he had slumped to looking at the cold cobblestone floor.

The rest of the Slytherin's didn't react much to Snape's pronouncement, Gobstones was a niche hobby it would seem. Silence had fallen again as Snape began to declare what would happen to Talbot.

"Malcom Talbot will also lose his spot on the quidditch team, as such Adrien Pucey will be holding tryouts for a new keeper and chaser first thing in the morning." Snape said with a nod to a fifth year boy. Harry knew him to be the twin brother to the fifth year female prefect, he tried to keep the sudden rush of hope and excitement down. He had been eager for a chance to try to play quidditch for his house, and they were in need of emergency replacement for his preferred role.

Harry noticed he hadn't felt any mixed feelings about Talbot's punishment, It wasn't as if he didn't deserve to lose his spot on the team for it, and what did it matter if he intended to gain from it, he mused.

"Draco Malfoy, decided to betray his housemates and ran to get a teacher who decided that he should be excused from punishment." Snape said with cold malice dripping from his tongue, it seemed that this one was a personal affront to him, for whatever reason that was. "As such i feel like everyone learning of his weakness and cowardice in the face of adversity ought to teach him better than any other punishment." Harry gulped vowing to never anger Snape.

Malfoy shrank as effectively as he could, the shame and misery clear on his face. Harry almost couldn't feel happy that Malfoy got his just desserts, the public punishment was a bit extreme in his opinion, he remembered the endless instances of Malfoy trying to goad and taunt him, it made him forget about the injustice.

"As you know we have only two months left until the end of term, we are down to a handful of points as a house. I don't expect the house cup any longer but i do expect you to act in a manner that doesn't bring shame to the noble house of Slytherin." And with that Snape swept his way past his students and left the common room, as the doorway to the hallway closed the room erupted in noise.

Harry watched as the four boys who had been punished turned and made their way to their rooms quickly, he turned to see Daphne and Tracey looking at him. Tracey began to talk about how terrible tomorrow would go, meanwhile Daphne was giving Harry a level stare making Harry remember his near constant mantra about keeping his face clear. Daphne was far too sharp eyed for him to trick. The night would be long.

Adrien Pucey paced in front of the gathered quidditch hopefuls, his face looked tired and stressed. Harry couldn't imagine what the events of the night before had done to Pucey's sleep but it couldn't have been good. Pucey looked the two prospective keepers up and down then grimaced, Harry as a first year hardly struck an impressive prospect, and the burly fourth year beside him looked more like a quaffle than a keeper to Harry.

"Okay we are going to shoot some shots, whoever saves the most in ten minutes gets the spot for today, understood?" Pucey said, sounding miserable. Harry nodded enthusiastically, he quickly mounted his school broom, an ancient thing covered almost ruined by neglect and years of disuse. The fourth year also mounted his broom and followed Harry toward the goal hoops, when they reached them Harry noticed Malfoy on his excellent Nimbus two thousand glaring at him.

He gave Malfoy a small smile, hardly even a crack of the lips really. "As Potter looks so confident he will go first." Pucey yelled out to the team, Harry felt his smile falter slightly and he swerved to look at the chasers who would be trying to score against him. Pucey was tall and lean, Harry had seen him play twice and he was pretty good, Gibbons on the other hand played a more defensive style so Harry didn't know what to expect from him.

After ten minutes the pair had only scored eight times, which wasn't much considering the viciousness of their shots, if Harry hadn't grown up playing keeper for his dad and sister he wouldn't have stood a chance. Higgins the fourth year boy had fared much worse than Harry had, letting the pair score a solid ten in the first few minutes had been all they needed to see before giving up on him.

When Pucey said Harry would be playing keeper Harry struggled to hide his grin, even if it was only due to extreme circumstances he was still as proud of himself as he had ever been. Malfoy had to visibly shake himself when he realized he would be playing alongside Harry, it would have been comical if not for being dragged into the tryouts for chasers.

Despite the horrendously early hour, as Pucey claimed he would need every hour he could get to make a team out of them, the number of people trying out for chaser made Harry feel sore before even touching the quaffle.

After two more hours of nearly nonstop catching and blocking hoops the newly formed team was settled, a sixth year female called Slew would be taking Flint's place, despite her pretty bad shooting Harry noticed her passing was more than acceptable. Giving Harry some rest Pucey called them down to the ground to talk over some strategies for the game, no doubt most were Flint's design.

It was widely accepted that the Gryffindor chasers were their weak point, Jasmine was the best seeker in the school currently and the Weasley twins were as unpredictable as the bludgers they went after. Wood was as good a keeper as most had ever seen, with rumors of him going pro after school, it left little room for the chasers to shine.

The idea was to put the chasers off their game enough to allow them to sneak in a few extra points, and use the pressure they gained from that to pile on pressure onto Jasmine's substitute from getting the snitch. Malfoy glowered at the last part of the plan, but even he knew better than to dispute his skills to Jasmine.

Harry had gotten dressed into a pair of too large quidditch robes quickly, as soon as his eyes fell on them it had started to feel real. Nerves the size of quaffles seemed bursting to try and explode out of him, it wasn't until Pucey walked over to him that Harry realized Madam Hooch had called for them to come out of their dressing room. Pucey quickly cast a few spells at Harry, he recognized them instantly and felt ashamed of himself for not thinking about doing them himself.

A shrinking charm made the quidditch robes fit him much better, the sticking charm on his glasses would make the world of difference. He swallowed a mouthful of air and took his place to the side of Malfoy, he didn't even glance at him as his eyes were focused on the gathered crowds in the stands. Somehow as a spectator he hadn't realized how many people came to watch, or how loud they all were.

With a shaky kick to get himself into the air they flew out from their tunnel and met the Gryffindor team in the center of the pitch, more than one set of eyes bulged when they met his, which gave Harry a small bit of humor.

Hooch's whistle rang in the warm midday air as Harry sped off toward his three hoops he was meant to keep safe. A small mess of body's in the center appeared as they fought over the quaffle, after a few seconds Harry saw Pucey dart off to the side with the brown ball under his arm. Relief flooded him, he needed a few minutes to find his feet so to say.

Pucey's shot rattled the post uncontrollably as it went through the hoop, Wood seemed annoyed at himself from what Harry could see, a few small celebrations from the chasers and the action returned. But this time Gryffindor were in possession, the three chasers might be the weakest part of their team but they weren't bad, they seemed to instinctively know Slew wasn't as practiced as she could have been and tried to exploit her.

A long pass left Alicia Spinnet's arm and flew over the head of Slew, Harry watched the ball with growing anxiety, it was towards Katie Bell who swooped up and caught the quaffle before it lost any height and shot. Harry realized too late he had been paying too much attention to the ball and not where he was, the quaffle went through the hoop down to his left.

Katie blew Harry a kiss as she flew past, hearing her giggling and then seeing her celebrate with her teammates made him flush. When Madam Hooch blew her whistle to start play back up he threw the quaffle to Gibbons, he was a safe pass, seemingly calm with the quaffle and always available.

Gibbons instantly missed his pass and it was caught by Bell, who wasted no time in rushing towards the goals, and she fired a shot towards the par post. Harry darted towards the ring with his arms outstretched, the sting in his fingers and the roar of the Slytherin crowd was all that told him he had saved the quaffle, all he was aware of was the pain in his hands. That shot was strong.

It hadn't taken long for Gryffindor's replacement seeker, Malcom Prang, to scare the Slytherin team by darting off in a seemingly random direction, luckily a bludger had blocked his path and caused him to lose track of the snitch. Harry hardly had time to notice as the Gryffindor chasers flooded their way towards him.

The game was close, for every certain goal Harry saved it seemed Wood did the same at the other end, every chaser was looking frustrated at their bad luck. Harry started to look to Slew for the passes, she had grown into the game very quickly displaying a sharp eye and an even sharper pass.

Pucey had managed to score a pair of goals in close succession giving Slytherin house something else to cheer for, Harry had begun to feel pretty confident when the cheers started up. A few saves later a chant rose up in the Slytherin section about him, Harry tried to listen to it but all he could make out was his name, but it sounded positive enough.

The game seemed to drag after a while, Slytherin were up 110 - 70 after an hour of play, despite how good the score was for them the entire team were aware of how quickly things would change if the snitch made an appearance. And so when Prang and Malfoy began to spiral around the Ravenclaw stand seemingly chasing the snitch the game seemed to stop, Gryffindor had the quaffle and were all watching Prang go after the snitch. Harry heard Wood screaming orders out to his chasers as the whole game seemed to be drained of noise.

Suddenly he noticed Spinnet had thrown a long pass towards Katie Bell, it was a bad pass in reality, way too close to Harry and too far from Katie. He felt the age and neglect of the broom he was riding and he tried to urge every inch of speed out of it, he could see Katie making up ground fast as he made his way toward the quaffle.

Catching the quaffle was easy, staying on his broom wasn't so much, as Katie flew around him pestering him trying to snatch the quaffle from him. Before he dropped the quaffle or worse, he heard a roar from the stands. A sudden and fierce noise exploded out from everywhere.

"I do not believe it, Malfoy has caught the snitch!" An excited, if not a little angry, voice yelled out to the crowd. Harry didn't know how he managed it but he found himself in the huddle of players congratulating Malfoy, when he gave him a one armed hug he felt Malfoy stiffen slightly, but in the joy of the situation they ignored their animosity.

Pucey wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulder as he entered the dressing room, the tall boy loomed over him but the smile on his face made him considerably less threatening. "Potter, you played fantastic, you nearly out saved Wood. If I am quidditch captain next year you've got a spot on the team." He said enthusiastically. Harry felt himself swell with pride, he knew he was capable but he really had played out of his mind today.

Harry found himself enjoying the adoration he received after his quidditch performance, it was different from when he had learnt he was a parselmouth, this time people seemed to think he deserved to be treated differently. Before they had done it out of fear maybe, or at least nervousness.

Daphne and Tracey had complimented his play, considering the pair weren't too big on the sport it was pretty big news. Hermione and Neville had been a little less enthusiastic in their compliments at their next study group meeting, Harry had laughed them off and tried to be a good sport, it wasn't easy to watch your team lose.

It wasn't until a few days before exams started that the quidditch cup was settled for the year, Ravenclaw had managed to snatch the cup away with a victory over Gryffindor much to the school's surprise. Harry didn't mind too much, the house cup was more important anyway, and Slytherin was doing a good job catching up to the rest of the houses.

In most classes every Slytherin student was trying to earn points, it was a shame that Crabbe and Goyle hadn't been sorted into other houses as they were dumber than bricks. Harry had managed to earn back most of the hundred points he had lost, in charms and transfiguration by helping his classmates with their work.

He was no teacher but he could see what they were doing wrong better than the other students could, Flitwick was especially happy to see him helping others and had been more than generous with giving out points.

The end of year exams had started with some of Harry's least favorite classes, history of magic and astronomy, so he was pretty happy when he left the charms exam feeling very confident. Flitwick had gotten him to perform a flurry of spells and with the written test Harry knew he had performed flawlessly, not that he expected anything else, the syllabus was terrible after all.

He found himself being swept out of the castle by Susan and Hannah a day after the last exam, the two girls led him to the greenhouses Professor Sprout maintained. They went around them until they were in a deeply shaded area with plenty of bushes and other plant life. Harry would have sworn there was a devil's snare, and if anyone could pull that out it was Professor Sprout, she had been born with green thumbs it was said.

Each girl had a spring in their step, Harry couldn't blame them, the exams might not have been the hardest things ever but they still came with their own stress. "I didn't know there was anything like this back here." Harry said as they sat down on a comfortable bench.

"Sprout tries to keep it a secret for her 'Puffs, she says we all need a quiet comfortable place to unwind." Hannah said smoothly running her fingers through her long blonde hair. She gave him a small smile as she stretched her legs out, with a satisfied sigh she slumped back into the bench.

Harry copied her actions and felt his joint creek in a delightful way, the bench must have had some special charms on it, he could feel the aches and pains he didn't know he had eep away. "They need these benches everywhere." He said distantly.

"We have them in our common room, Sprout thinks we do our best work when we are comfy and relaxed." Hannah replied then threw a meaningful glance at Susan. Harry turned to look to Susan to see what Hannah was implying, but he only saw the side of her face, as she was looking around a large pink petaled bush.

Harry could hear some noises coming from that direction. "What are you doing spying on people, nosey?" He teased, he saw Susan quickly swing her head around to him with a pretty pink color on her cheeks. He leaned around her to see what she had found so fascinating, as soon as he moved he felt Susan try to stop him but it just made him more curious if anything.

Two older students were sitting on a bench very close together. The noises he was hearing made more sense when he saw their urgent display of kissing, the two were acting like no one would be able to see them. Harry realized not many people would be able to, this was a secluded spot after all. He was far too aware of how close he had gotten to Susan in trying to see, he could almost hear her heavy breathing.

He sat back down fighting the blush that crept up his face, had Susan known that there might be students coming here to kiss? He met her eyes and her shy smile and furiously red face made his eyes widen, she must have known. Suddenly he realized she had made an effort to add some curls to her red hair, it was a pleasant effect and Harry had always thought she looked pretty when she blushed.

Hannah let out a small laugh beside him, Harry and Susan both gave small jumps at the almost interruption. Harry felt himself relax, he was starting to remember that he wasn't alone here with Susan. "You two should see your faces, you look like tomatoes." She laughed.

They laughed together for a while, Susan pulled her wand out and idly twirled it in her hands, Harry was glad he wasn't the only one who was nervous even if it was ridiculous. Before long the two older students left, they dashed past the three first years hand in hand and avoiding their gazes, Harry noticed Susan watched them interested.

Hannah let out another laugh before speaking. "Thank Merlin, I thought they'd never leave. This is difficult enough without hearing them going at it like that." Harry laughed and turned to look at Hannah. She had put her notebook away and was looking at Susan expectantly, Harry slowly turned to see Susan nod to her.

Harry gulped.

"It's an easy way to break the ice, I guess." Susan said casually.

"Hahaha i guess it is." Hannah turned to Harry with a grin that rooted him to the spot, she looked like a kneazle that caught a mouse. "We've never tried this before, you understand."

"If you want to, that is." Susan said looking at her shoes disinterestedly.

The smell of the girls filled his nostrils, it was a pretty floral smell, not entirely different from the surrounding flowers. "Huh, what?" He said elegantly.

He found himself transfixed by the two pairs of lips that suddenly looked soft and shiny, he licked his own lips nervously. Hannah laughed a rich warm laugh, he suddenly felt his heart begin to race, she sounded different.

Hannah put her hand on his knee and lent forward slowly. "If you want to…"

His eyes never left her lips as they closed in on his, Harry felt her lips on his own before he could react. He thought it was funny how he could catch a quaffle pretty easily but he couldn't react to what was happening, maybe he didn't want to react.

When Hannah pulled away she gave him a smile that was stunning and a little smug, Harry felt himself return it, he wished that it hadn't ended so soon. Susan gently laid a hand on his other knee, Harry made sure this time to savor the feeling of Susan's lips against his own, she was soft and sweet and oh so warm against his lips.

Hannah wanted another kiss and Harry was eager to try again too, before he knew what had happened he had shared kisses with the both of them a handful of times. Between kisses their blushes grew and flared up whenever they made eye contact, Harry could hardly believe his luck as both of the pretty girls seemed pretty happy with how things had turned out.

Harry couldn't keep the grin off his face, not that he tried to hide it, there was no good reason to hide how he felt about this. Harry wasn't sure how long they had been kissing before Hannah said they had to go back up to the school, Harry was pleased to hear Susan groan alongside him, it really had been a lot of fun. He didn't know how he managed to walk away then and not just float off.

Harry was lucky the study group had been stopped for the year as exams were almost done, because if he had to be around the two hufflepuff girls he would have had a hard time not blushing. And he didn't want to think what Daphne and Tracey would think, he felt it was safer to just keep this to himself for as long as he could.

The end of the year had crept up on him before he knew it, there hadn't been any repeat performances from the Hufflepuff's much to Harry's disappointment, but he couldn't blame them; it had been difficult to even think of them without getting embarrassed. He had been finding himself thinking about them an awful lot as of late, he had always had fun when they were around but this was different, he was becoming more aware of them. Well of girls in general to be honest, he had always noticed the pretty girls, but he began to notice their lips or the way Daphne or Tracey would play with their hair while talking.

He had been on the end of some rather sharp looks from Daphne recently, Tracey seemed oblivious to any difference in him luckily, but Harry had cursed himself for not being more controlled. Even if Daphne was really pretty he still didn't know if he could really trust her, she certainly wasn't a bad person or anything, but she was far too sharp and disciplined for him to not notice.

He hadn't heard anything bad about her family, but she acted a bit like he expected the death eater children to act, well other than being his friend that was. She unnerved him more often than not, she was pretty and smart but he was used to those aspects of her, it was the subtle things that caught him off guard. He had noticed early on that she used Tracey as a way to drag conversation out of people and would listen intently to what was said, he just thought she was a little bit shyer than Tracey, but he knew it was on purpose.

But there were times when she seemed to react naturally, like when she learned an advanced spell, she had bounced up and down when she cast her first reductor spell. He had walked in on her and the other girls giggling like crazy one afternoon after he had been held up by Peeves. He had assumed they had been joking about him, girls were like that after all, his dad and Sirius were adamant about that.

Daphne was just different to his other friends and it made him a little bit uncomfortable, but he knew they were friends, and didn't think it was a good idea to push at his concerns. He had no desire to be at the wrong end of her wand, he had seen her pull off a few nasty spells in private.

The billowing smoke of the Hogwarts express dominated the small station, it made the two hundred or so students hard to distinguish from one another, Harry, Daphne and Tracey persevered though as this time they had agreed to find Susan and Hannah's compartment. Merlin knew that the train was more than long enough for the students, Harry assumed it was a way to torment students just before and after the school year, teachers could be evil like that.

Tracey stepped up to the train first and was stopped by a tall prefect, Julian Yaxley was standing in the corridor of the train looking past Tracey. Harry maintained eye contact with the older student, not wanting to show any sign of fear, no matter how much the prefect did scare him.

He had a good reputation within the house, but Harry figured that it was pretty easy if no one was brave enough to go against him. Tracey took an instinctive step back away from Yaxley and Harry felt Daphne stop short next to him.

Yaxley smiled a polite smile to them, Harry noticed his eyes were still their usual piercing gaze, not at all kind. "Here you go Davis." He said as he pulled his wand out and tapped her trunk, Tracey gave a small start and she lifted it up into the air easily. "I need to borrow your friends for a few minutes. Go find your compartment." He said commandingly.

Tracey seemed to be glued to the spot before Harry nodded to her, she darted off as Yaxley's eyes followed her for long enough to ensure she was out of earshot. Yaxley then decided to step off the train and stand into the doorway to talk to them.

"In Slytherin house we pride ourselves on our excellence, in all paths not just academic or extra-curricular." He began with a lecturing tone. "For generations beyond count we have selected those who stand out among the… others. This year it was my first year to select the two best students in the first year class. You two made it very easy for me."

Harry felt Daphne take a step forward as if forgetting who Yaxley was, Harry didn't take his eyes off him though. He didn't like the sound of any of this, as though he had been tested and examined by the older student, even if his father wasn't a prominent death eater it would unnerve him.

"For what purpose?" Daphne asked with eagerness, Harry knew she took great pride in herself, not in a bad way but she was aware of her talent and enjoyed it.

"We aim to produce the best wizard's and witches possible, not the most agreeable." Yaxley said, with a casual glance at Harry. "I could easily have chosen Malfoy and Parkinson if i had different goals." His casual smile at Harry caught him off guard, it was as though he knew exactly what Harry had been thinking.

"Is that all? You just want us to be the best and that's all?" Harry felt he let some bitterness leak out into his tone. Yaxley looked from him to Daphne and shrugged.

"I want you to help me and aid me in a mission I have, Slytherin house on the other hand want you to proceed out into the world with nothing but excellence. As our long history has been built on powerful wizards and witches who have changed the world." For better or worse Harry added mentally.

"You will gain valuable connections from this little group, you will gain knowledge years in advance for even you two. All we expect from you is to show up to a little gathering once a week, and to keep your classmates in line. We don't accept idiocy in this house." He said with a hard look at Harry. "Your squabbles with Malfoy will have to stop, even if you need to force him to stop. Too many points have been lost from that, it damages our reputation."

"I'm no bully." Harry replied hotly.

"I'm not asking you to be Potter, I'm telling you to put him in his place and be done with it. You two have the potential to lead this house into greatness when I leave in two years, I wont have you waste it over petty ideas of rivalry." Yaxley said passionately, Harry could almost think he was being honest with them.

"You mentioned a mission, what is it?" Daphne said in a calm tone that demanded an answer.

Yaxley gave her a small nod and a greedy look entered his eyes. "I did, glad you remembered, I want to make Hogwarts a better school. The best school. I lead by example and so will you. Our classes are poor and ill thought out, together we will drag Hogwarts into a better tomorrow."

Harry knew what the older boy meant, the end of year exams had been passed without any need for reading ahead or outside of class. It didn't bode well that Yaxley, a fifth year, shared his sentiment. He caught Daphne's eye and she nodded eagerly, he had known she would, would she join up if he didn't though.

Would she share what happened if he didn't agree to join, somehow he knew she wouldn't, she was already far too disciplined to do anything else. There was a small part of him that wanted to throw caution to the wind and accept blindly, he forced that down, a year in Slytherin had taught him much better than that.

"You speak the tongue of Slytherin Potter, perhaps the first in a thousand years to be a student in Hogwarts. There are secrets in Hogwarts many would kill for and you could have them all if you wanted. Don't waste the best thing to have happened in the school for generations." Yaxley said with a fervor that filled Harry. He hadn't considered that aspect of being a parselmouth much, sure it was cool but there were endless legends of Slytherin hiding secrets in the school. Daphne gave him a sharp look and nodded again.

He couldn't pretend he didn't like the sound of it, it would be lovely to know the kind of things Yaxley had promised. It almost sounded like his study group but with a more focused goal, worse company thought.

Daphne would accept regardless of what he said here, could he let her go into this pit of vipers alone? She was pretty; smart, responsible, untrustworthy, secretive and a friend. Either way Yaxley had a tie to him, it might be better to learn about him for himself. 'Keep you friends close, and your enemies closer' was the old saying. He nodded to Daphne.

"We accept." They said together.

The train hurtled through the countryside as the sun began to set in on the horizon, Harry felt a great deal of sadness engulf him as he watched his friends laughing and talking. Daphne and Tracey were his usual companions and he had no idea what two months without them there all day would be like.

Susan and Hannah were just so much fun to be around, even before the kisses they had shared, they were just bubbly and it was infectious. He would have no idea what he would do to pass the time this summer but he knew the four girls would leave a hole he hadn't expected.

As they got off the train and started to say their goodbyes to one another, after a great deal of promises to write and maybe visit each other, Harry found himself giving Tracey a hug. He caught his family out of the corner of one eye watching him, his dad was there too giving him a huge smile and a double thumbs up, he would have groaned but Tracey would demand to know why. He wasn't brave enough to tell her what his dad must be thinking. Daphne gave him a quick but not cold hug, it was just what he had expected. Susan gave him a longer hug, Harry blushed at the close contact, the last time they had been anywhere near this close had been something he would never forget. Susan had pointed out her aunt somewhere near his own family so Harry was surprised at the warmth she put into the hug.

He would have done anything to not have his dad and sisters see, well except for not getting the hug, he wasn't made of stone or anything. Hannah came up last of all, she was going home with Susan today as her family was busy working, at least that's what Harry thought gave her her boldness.

Her long warm kiss had taken his breath away and made him freeze still to the spot. The feel of her against him was exciting and horrible. Very aware of the eyes of his family on them from their vantage point, not to mention the gasp from Tracey. He could almost feel the cold indifference coming from Daphne.

When Hannah pulled away she winked at him and pulled Susan away to Mrs Bones at a run, they looked like they were laughing. Daphne stalked off quickly after, she had watched Hannah run off with no warmth in her blue eyes. Tracey looked between Harry, Hannah and Daphne then groaned and took off after her long time friend.

Harry groaned and slowly turned to see his family. His dad's grin seemed an echo of his own, try as he might to hide it. His mum and Jasmine were looking amused and giggling with each other, Rosie just seemed a little bit grossed out.

He could feel the spring in his step as he walked over to his family, no matter how embarrassed he was he really had missed them. And no matter how unbearable his dad would be he wouldn't mind it too much, after all the old man was just excited for him. He hoped so anyway.

AN: So there's the next chapter, Christmas and all that fun stuff made me delay it a bit, so I'm sorry about that. I really hope you like this one, I wasn't sure how I wanted some parts to go down, but I'm pretty content with how it turned out.

With the last chapter I didn't want to drag it on past the Potter kids getting their punishments, and a few of you commented on the lack of punishment for the other offenders. The way i did it might not have been ideal, but I'm not sure if it would have worked to fit it in without altering the feel of that chapter. If you have any thoughts on the matter I would love to hear them as I always strive to do better with my writing.

In saying that I know this story is labeled 'HPDG' so please don't worry, I hope I'm setting up something a bit more romantic with those two rather than casual interest with any other girls. Also a small update to fix major issues i put in the first time round... let's pretend I didn't mess the quidditch up, eh.

So as always Thank you all so much for reading. I appreciate the heck out of it. Please leave a review to tell me what you think.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The floo roared green as Susan stepped out of the fireplace, Harry rushed to greet her, it had been almost an entire month since he had last seen one of his friends. He wrapped her up in a hug, she let out a gasp but was soon laughing. Harry heard some wolf whistles from one of his sisters, but he didn't mind.

He let go of her and took a good look at her, she had gotten a little bit taller unless he was remembering wrong, he had had to crane his neck down to kiss those lips last month… he wasn't going to doubt his memory now. He noticed Susan's eyes roaming over him, he had been pretty active this summer, Rosie had hardly let him rest.

"You look great Susan, did you do something with your hair?"

"Thanks I had the Salon mistress add in some colours for depth. I'm really happy with how it turned out, though it's a bit too dark to really notice." Susan looked around and finally seemed to remember they were not alone, she took a hurried step away from him and made her way over to his parents.

The floo burst to light again, revealing Jasmine's friend Angelina Johnson, she was tall with long black hair and very pretty. He gave her a wave which she mimicked and then greeted Jasmine. Harry's eyes fell on Susan once more, she was wearing a pretty floral dress and a thin cardigan over it.

"Thanks for having me over for the party, Mr and Mrs Potter, your house looks lovely." She said warmly. Harry eyed his father closely, he wouldn't put it past him to make a joke at Susan's expense. Luckily his mother took the lead and began to get Susan settled with a glass of butterbeer, his dad met his eyes and gave him a big grin.

This wasn't going to be an easy shared birthday party, due to Jasmine's… status, it wasn't very easy to have many strangers round. Things had gotten easier over the years, his mum used to joke that they almost never left home in those first few years, Uncle Sirius said that was the reason Rosie and Harry were born but he was always a git.

The floo burst to life once more, and out clattered a young witch in dragon hide boots, a mess of a robe and vibrant green hair. It was never easy to be sure when Nymphadora Tonks showed up, well until she fell over, but she had a few giveaways. Harry bounded forward to help her up, she took his offered hand gratefully.

"Wotcher Harry, what a fine little gentleman you are." She ruffled his already messy hair, then she let out a guffaw. "Ah old Bonesy niece is already here, no wonder you're being so polite." Harry didn't even get a chance to act indignant before Tonks took off to create havok.

Susan would survive Tonks he hoped, she was a junior auror after all, not like she could harass her bosses bosses niece all that much, right? Well it was Tonks, and she was very much like her cousin Sirius, maybe he had better stick close to Susan for a bit.

Uncle Lupin walked out next, followed shortly after by Percy Weasley and his younger sister, Harry couldn't remember her name, but Rosie had been talking about her all summer. They had become good friends since he had gone off to school last year.

Percy gave him a curt nod and ushered his sister towards Harry's parents, he didn't hang around for long before leaving the same way he had entered. Rosie and her friend were squeaking and bouncing around before Percy had even left, Harry smiled to see his sister having a real friend.

A hand gripped his shoulder and he looked up to see his uncle Lupin looking after Rosie too. "She's gotten so big so quick, you all have." He sounded sad, but Lupin never let it linger, he might not be as eager to act the fool as his dad or Sirius but he still had a mischievous streak.

"Your dad tells me you invited _one _of your girlfriends tonight." The man's grin was decidedly wolfish. "You should tell your old uncle how you managed to pull that one off." Harry didn't stomp off, Susan really did need him to keep these idiots at bay. His uncle's laughs followed him across the entrance hall.

"Your family is so lively, it's really nice to see."

"Yeah they sure are crazy, but hey you can't choose your family." Susan looked a bit sad while she looked around at everyone. "It hasn't always been like this though, after the war and all… Jasmine going to Hogwarts really helped, I think Mum and Dad forgot how to have fun."

Harry knew the war had been tough on most families, but the Bones' had gotten a really bad deal of it. They were prominent members of the fight against… him.

"Yeah, I was shocked Auntie let me come, she must really trust your dad." Her hair had some hints of brown underneath the blazing red hair he was so used to, he hadn't seen anything like it but it was very pretty.

He pulled on her arm and led her out of the center of attention, the kitchen was a little quieter. He gulped hard, and tried his best confident grin. His Dad had tried to teach him 'the look' "I'm sure that her thinking I'm dating Hannah helps though." he cupped her chin.

Susan grinned and looked around hastily, then pulled away. "Stop it," she giggled. "Anyone could just walk in."

True enough Jasmine and Angelina walked, at their shared grins Harry's face got hot. "We were going to go outside and mess with some of uncle Sirius' goodies, you want to come with us? Or are you… busy?" Jasmine asked.

Susan grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him along. "Yeah that sounds like fun, auntie never lets me get anything from his shop."

"Oh well you'll be in for a treat, he's always giving us bits and bobs from the shop." Jasmine said.

"If he ever shows up." Harry muttered.

Sirius was never one to be late to a party, but they had seen less of him than usual since returning from hogwarts. Harry could only remember seeing him once, and even that he had quickly left again after a quick chat with his parents.

"He's been busy, don't worry Harry, he wouldn't miss this for the world."

They reached a small shed in the back garden, Jasmine disappeared inside, Susan and Angelina were talking about Susans' hair. Harry could see Rosie and her friend playing on some brooms, not flying high enough to be dangerous but more than mum would usually like.

Jasmine came out with a small metal cannon, the size of a box of Bertie Botts, he gave a big grin. Jasmine shouted out for Tonks to come help her, and gave Susan a wink.

"This is a bat bogey cannon, instead of them flying out of their nose, the cannon fires massive bat bogeys at them." Harry explained to Angelina and Susan, they both seemed pretty amused.

Tonks appeared at the back door and Jasmine fired. Bogey's, a bit larger than a snitch, shot at her, flapping their wings for all their worth. The junior auror did not react in time to dodge them, her face was covered in the angry little things. Harry heard her yell angrily for a second before she pulled her wand out.

She waved her wand over her head and her spell hit the bogey's, but they only grew in size, they had gotten in her hair and all over her head. Jasmine was giggling like a lunatic and so was Rosie, Susan was laughing but looking a little bit concerned. Angelina clearly felt it was more disgusting than funny considering how she shuddered. Tonks slashed with her wand, and the bat bogey's collapsed to the ground. Her eyes fell on the four of them.

"You little shit's better run." And her wand was twirling, she rushed towards them firing off tickling jinxes. They screamed and ran, Harry pulled Susan along with him but quickly got him with a jinx. His butt felt like it was on fire with tickles. Jasmine's screech soon followed.

It took Harry a few minutes to gather his breath, his face was on fire and Susan watching over him didn't help, even if she had a pretty flush on her cheeks. Tonks approached with her wand sparking dangerously, and her hair was crazed and deep burning red.

"I've taken down far darker wizards than you little Slytherin, now beg for mercy and I might just grant it." She said playfully, she moved her wand closer and closer to him. "Fine if you insist…"

Harry climbed up and snatched her wand from her, "You'll have to catch me first, Nymphadora." He sprinted off for all he was worth, Tonks was way too clumsy to catch up, he hoped.

He reached Jasmine and handed her the wand, then he ran off again, Tonks wouldn't hesitate to get revenge before getting her wand back. Harry saw Jasmine look at the wand and the oncoming auror, then she yelped and took off running.

Before long even Rosie had gotten involved with keeping the wand from Tonks, their friends played along and Tonks never really went for them. She was more than eager enough to tackle Harry or Jasmine to the ground and tickle them a bit though, Harry would have at least one bruise in the morning.

A bark of laughter came from the back door, uncle Sirius was laughing while watching Tonks try and snatch her wand. "Really dearest cousin, if you can't handle these little brats then how will you survive old Mad-Eye."

Tonks pulled another wand out of her robe, and cast a quick 'accio' to get her wand back, she laughed at their expressions. "Always carry a spare wand, old Mad-Eye's nineteenth lesson, i think."

She shifted her face to look like a grizzled old man, figured it was the face of the famous auror Mad-Eye Moody. "Constant vigilance kids." She switched back to her regular face and grimaced. "Doesn't work as well without his creepy spinning eye."

"Hurry up and get in here, I've got someone for you to meet." Sirius called and he ducked back inside.

Tonks made to go inside but Jasmine grabbed her hand. "Tonks can you please do the Fudge face?" She fluttered her eyelashes and everything, Tonks grinned and lowered her face, when she looked up her face had turned into the exact twin of the minister for magic's. They laughed at her expression, she made the minister look even more silly than he managed.

"No Tonks, the other one."

Tonks… Fudge, well she frowned, then cast Susan a look. "Not a word to auntie okay?" At Susans nod Tonks grinned. "Gotta love Puff's." And she scrunched up her face. Well Fudge's face, her cheeks bulged and puffed with whatever effort she was doing. Frown lines made a mess of her forehead and her fists shook.

With a sigh she relaxed, Harry looked over her to see if anything had changed, it was weird seeing that face on a young woman's body. He heard some gasps and giggles and quickly looked back up. Sprouting on her forehead was a very tiny and shriveled penis.

"I call this one, the real Fudge. What do you think?" She said while grinning.

Susan was giggling like crazy while blushing, everyone else was a mixture of giggling and embarrassed. Jasmine nudged Angelina and whispered something, and both girls burst out laughing even harder. Tonks struck a few different poses before shifting back to her normal look.

"You know it wiggled everytime you did anything right?" Harry asked.

"I've heard from some sources that is what happens." she whispered back conspiratorially. Harry felt the heat return to his cheeks, Tonks grinned and winked at him then sauntered off towards the house. Susan was wiping tears from her eyes when Harry tried to escort her inside.

"I think auntie would really find that funny." She said as she calmed herself.

Tonks looked back with a grin. "Who do you think gave me the idea?" Susan gasped and Harry laughed at her face, he had never seen her so shocked. "Not a word remember, fellow Puff." And Tonks disappeared inside.

They quickly scrambled in after her, the adults had gathered in the kitchen and were clustered around Sirius and a pretty woman. She was clearly a few years younger than Sirius but they were clearly very inraptured with each other, Harry saw his dad clap Sirius on the shoulder.

"Oh kids, hey, well… erm, yeah so…" Uncle Sirius spluttered out. Harry had never seen his uncle lost for words, he was always so confident and cavalier, he saw his mum and dad laughing at him.

"You're Gwenog Jones." Rosie and her friend said at the same time.

"Ginny Gwenog Jones is at my house." Rosie said bouncing up and down while holding onto her friend.

Sirius seemed to find the words at last, he wrapped his hands around Gwenog's and pulled her forward. "This beautiful and fierce woman is Gwen, and we are officially dating." Sirius beamed at her as he said it, she seemed pretty happy too. Harry was pretty sure she was a quidditch player, but he didn't follow the teams as closely as his sisters.

Rosie walked up and shook Gwenog's hand and introduced herself, Jasmine followed soon after. So Harry did too, he grinned at his uncle who looked like an oversized rooster, Gwen had a firm handshake and a kind smile.

Harry's dad took a step forward and announced to the kids, "We have checked her for the usual stuff don't worry. No blackmail, no confundus charm, nothing at all."

"But we will find out what happened, don't worry kids." Lupin chimed in.

"Oh this is my punishment after the little incident against Puddlemere." Gwenog said with a sad look at Sirius.

Sirius just chuckled, he smacked both Lupin and his dad round the head and gave Gwen a kiss. After a few laughs some people cheered, Tonks even shot off some sparks to enhance the event.

Rosie pestered Gwen all night, with Ginny in tow, the girls were clearly big fans and Gwen didn't mind too much. His mum had tried to apologise a good few hundred times, meanwhile Sirius was strutting around the place, not that that was too out of the ordinary.

As the night wound down they all gathered outside to let off some muggle fireworks, it was pretty hard to apply notice-me-not charms to something that exploded so obviously. Harry and Jasmine cut into their shared cake, it was always like that but he never really minded, it was nice to share stuff with his sister.

He had finally managed to get a kiss from Susan just before she left, but it wasn't exactly what he had been hoping for, she said it was embarrassing with all his family there. Harry understood, but he would have to live with them teasing him about not getting a kiss now. And there was still at least another month until Hogwarts reopened.

Summer continued to pass at a trudge after the party, it seemed like the occasional owls from his friends were the only thing to look forward to. He had barely heard from Daphne Greengrass after the first week or so, Tracey Davis claimed that her family were pretty strict and liked to keep things very traditional.

Which usually meant some nonsense about pureblood customs, Harry tried not to let it bother him, her family was hardly evil unlike some others in Slytherin. It certainly wasn't easy to think one of his friends was firmly steeped in the same traditions that allowed… him… to take power.

He had thought she was mad about Hannah's little stunt when they left Hogwarts, but Tracey claimed she had barely spoken to her either, and they were almost inseparable at school. Harry had managed to arrange a time to meet up in Diagon Alley when they would all go shopping for their stuff.

So far only Daphne was the only one who hadn't replied, even Hermione and Neville had agreed to meet up. It was the idea of meeting up again that kept him going, dad was spending more and more time away from the house and his mum was helping Rosie prepare for Hogwarts like she had for him.

It was the last morning before leaving to go to Hogwarts when Harry joined his parents in the kitchen, they had been talking and his dad was still getting ready for work, as in trying to comb his hair. Their conversation died off when he walked in but it started back up before long.

"So Amelia is sending me and Dawlish off to help the department in Romania, so either she is starting to listen to me or she's bored of me." His dad said with a grin for Harry, Harry grinned back, from his dad's stories he was good at his job but he didn't exactly make things easy for Madam Bones.

"For how long, darling?" His mum asked while she was digging around in the fridge, when she pulled out some bacon.

"A few months, what with all the secrecy involved it'll be a long and slow process I'm afraid. But Bones wants us there for a reason, and that's good enough for me." His dad gave his wife a sad smile. "I'll miss you, but we have our mirrors to talk, and maybe I can see about having you come visit."

"And who's the new head of the department?" His mum asked.

"Mulciber." Was his dad's serious reply. "Old Bagman was livid, but then again we all were."

"Be careful out there James."

His dad just laughed, and gave a big yawn. His sisters came downstairs when the bacon had finished cooking, typical really, Harry had just finished setting the table for everyone too. The food was perfect, the best way to start the morning, and with that his dad zipped around the kitchen giving everyone kisses.

He paused at Rosie for a bit and gave her some extra attention, it pained his dad to miss seeing her go off to Hogwarts for the first time. Rosie had some tears on her cheeks when dad pulled away from her and rushed to the fireplace, Harry expected his dad was holding up just as well.

"It'll just be us four today so lets get there early this time okay?" His mum said, the kids murmured their agreement. He would miss his parents, but he was so ready to be off back at Hogwarts. Not being able to perform magic whenever he wanted was a miserable experience, he would have to make up for it big time.

His belongings were naturally already packed and so were Rosie's so they decided to spend the rest of the morning with their mum, after all they had two hours to kill. His mum was obviously sad, it would be the first time she would come back without any of her kids, so they tried to take her mind off of it.

He knew it was impossible though, she lived for her family, and this house would feel so empty with her alone. He resolved to call her through the mirrors more frequently, last year he had been reminded by an owl a few too many times.

They reached platform nine and three quarters with an hour to spare, there was nearly no crowd at all this early, and so the three of the potter kids found their own compartment and settled to wait. Rosie cried as she said goodbye to their mum, so they got her calmed and excited before too long.

After a while Harry saw a few of his friends, he saw Tracey and Daphne bustle through the crowd and enter the train not far from him, so he hugged his sisters goodbye and set off to find them again. He found them only five or six coaches down, they had clearly only just settled in as they were adjusting their hair and skirts.

"Hey, merlin's beard I've missed you two." He said as he walked in, he swung his trunk up into the overhead and then gave them a genuine smile. "It was a shame you missed us at Diagon Alley Daphne, we had a blast."

Tracey jumped up and gave him a hug that he eagerly returned, meanwhile Daphne slowly stood and gave him an almost distant hug of greeting. Harry tried not to look too disappointed, after all she wasn't exactly the most casual of people, she had been like this at the beginning of last year too.

Tracey however made up for Daphne's reserved attitude, and started talking about how much she missed them too. Harry didn't know much about her family, but clearly they allowed Tracey to actually have fun. Before long Neville and Hermione poked their heads in, they were just stopping by to catch up with their housemates, even if most of them were frustrating.

Susan and Hannah stayed long enough to share some stories, but even they eventually left to reconnect with their other friends. Harry had no idea how long they had been travelling for, but the witch who pushed the trolly had arrived and he fancied a few snacks. After stocking up on a few delicious treats he settled in for the long train ride to school.

It took Daphne a little while to shake herself out of her rigid persona but before long she was laughing with Tracey much like he remembered. As the girls talked about a trip Daphne had taken to Bulgaria with her family Harry heard a scraping on the door, he glanced at it and saw two small pieces of paper bumping into the door.

When he opened the door they both darted inside, and hovered inches away from his and Daphne's faces. They met each other's eyes and then plucked the papers out of the air, his was addressed to him, he hesitated before opening but saw that Daphne didn't.

He quickly opened it and read it. _Harry Potter, your presence is expected in the first compartment. Yaxley. _Harry had almost forgotten all about Yaxley and his offer of guidance, if that was what it was. Daphne had already begun explaining to Tracey about how they were expected, when Harry met her eye she ordered him to get out of the compartment so she could change. As he waited Tracey passed him out his Slytherin robes.

So Harry and Daphne made their way to the compartment closest to the driver, if the train even had a driver. As they knocked on the door it slid open, Harry noticed immediately that an older student was pointing his wand at the door, he was a seventh year unless he was very mistaken. He also had a badge on his robes that he could tell was only given to head boys.

Yaxley sat next to the head boy and nodded when they entered the compartment, and whatever conversation had been going on started back up. He sat beside Daphne, and due to the limited space in the compartment, he was pressed up against her leg. After a few minutes one more student entered, Alice Pucey, a now sixth year prefect, sat opposite him.

Harry felt very out of place among these students, he saw six sets of prefects badges and a head boy badge. If anything it gave him an idea of how high of an opinion these people would have of themselves, but it wasn't as if he and Daphne didn't have that too. Actually Daphne likely had a big enough ego for the both of them.

"Welcome Greengrass, Potter. Welcome back friends. Professor Snape has assured me we will have our usual room whenever we need it, the password is 'Perfection'." The boy with the Head Boy badge said in a deep voice, he sounded very self assured. Harry saw most of the others nod solemnly, he just waited, he could almost feel Daphne processing everything next to him.

She was born for this kind of behavior, well more likely she had been raised for it and taught it as carefully as most children learn quidditch. Yaxley shifted and Harry watched him, he had been careful to learn who in the house had, well dangerous, relatives. from what he remembered he was the only person here who had a parent who was very obviously connected to… him.

"Harry, Daphne, you both performed excellently on your exams, you are both very clearly outliers in your year. As such, you are welcome to join our weekly meetings and reap such rewards as that provides, however you will be expected to continue to excel and also bridge this childish divide with your peers." Yaxley said, his voice was as commanding and full of authority as ever.

"Thank you, Julian." The Head Boy said. "If either of you have any questions, Julian or Alice will help you. Our first meeting will be to decide where we wish to develop over the course of the year, obviously standards will be just as high this year as always."

Harry started to tune him out, not that he wasn't interested or on edge or anything, he just didn't see what the point was. It was almost like they really were a really unbalanced study group. Harry started to watch how each person reacted to what was said, more than what was said. It would be more important to learn how this group worked than hearing them waffle on.

The pair of third years looked more timid than anything, they seemed to duck away from eye contact from the older students, which gave Harry little hope. They would only act this way if there was a reason for it, and with someone like Yaxley involved Harry could see one reason.

The fact that all the fifth years and on were prefects wasn't lost on him. These were the people who basically ran the house other than Professor Snape, Harry would have to figure out how they did that before long, though Daphne likely already knew. They had been left alone for most of their first year, but he knew she had found ways to learn things she had not right to learn under such loose confides.

Before long they were dismissed and sent back to their own compartments, Harry and Daphne quickly left with respectful 'thank you's' and they set off to their compartment. Tracey wasn't alone like Harry had feared, Susan and Hannah sat with Tracey while they ate Harry's sweets. They had the nerve to grin and wave when he entered.

"What was all that about?" Tracey asked.

"A whole lot of nothing." Daphne said levely. Harry nodded his agreement so Tracey just shrugged. "Give me some of those chocolate frogs, i'm starving." Daphne said without even a hint of shame.

Harry watched as his friends devoured his sweets in an astonishing time, Daphne grinned at him as she bit the head off a poor frog. After a while he was sent back out into the hall so Tracey could get changed into her robes, this time he noticed a few other boys waiting out in the corridor.

When the train came to a stop, they all made their way towards the enchanted carriages that led to the school, Harry noticed Hannah and Tracey staring past the banister ahead but not at the castle, almost where a horse would be. They must just be a lot hungrier than he would have thought.

It was a lot quicker to reach the castle by these carriages, those little boats had been awfully slow but he figured the view was better. There was a cold breeze which made both Tracey and Susan press themselves against him for whatever warmth they could get, Harry was even kind enough to wrap an arm around them.

He didn't have a smug grin whatever Daphne said, she was just jealous, he had enough sense not to tell her that of course. When Tracey and Susan thanked him however he felt his chest swell, it was always nice to be appreciated.

It didn't take long for the students to find seats at the house tables, Harry was sitting next to Crabbe and a surly fourth year, while Daphne and Tracey were together. The Sorting Hat sang a loud and aimless song about unity and the perils of division, meanwhile the students began to argue with their own stomachs.

Before long the sorting had begun, Harry had to wait for ages until his Rosie was called up, he applauded along with most of the school when she was placed in Gryffindor. Most of his housemates looked at him like he had sprouted a second head, Harry was pleased to see her friend Ginny had also been sorted into Gryffindor, Rosie was guaranteed at least one friend.

Harry dug into the food that eventually appeared in front of them all and tried to make small talk with Crabbe at the same time, his father might have been a death eater but he was far too ogreish to form an opinion. But apparently inter horse unity was important.

Harry had noticed Malfoy watching him, he sat a few spaces past Tracey and when he thought Harry wasn't looking glared at him. Harry was almost excited to put him in his place, he had been itching to do any kind of magic. There was nothing about Malfoy he missed, but he wouldn't mind letting loose on him.

When he settled into his four poster bed he let out a contented sigh, it felt amazing to be back. Classes started first thing the next day and his stomach was full, the only thing that could have made it better wasn't exactly on the cards yet. But if his dad was to be believed getting a girlfriend wasn't too hard.

AN: Hey, been a while, so i'm back and updating this story. took a little while to remember some points and places i wanted to go, this chapter was more character-y so not much actually happened. That'll change quickly, I'm really excited to get onto the next few chapters so expect more updates real soon. Also this one was a little bit shorter, but the cutoff makes more sense here rather than earlier or later.

I was toying with the idea of Harry dating a few girls first, I'm still not sure what I want, I really want that mix of light hearted fun of being young and foolish but also the crippling weight of endless peril Hogwarts seems to exude. I'm just thinking there's plenty of time for misery, why not some fun now?

I'm not sure if it's a good idea to show any POV's from the villains, i think some would help explain motives, but it's not necessary it would mostly be a fleshing out thing. As such I would rather try to avoid it, but if you think it would add to the story or would just like to see it more in the future let me know. (A certain book will be rearing its ugly head this year. Maybe I could have foreshadowed a few bit's better earlier, but I can go back or even add something to the next chapter if needed.)

As always Thank you so much for reading, much love and good night. :)


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Harry quickly settled back into life at Hogwarts, classes were still a bit of a chore but he was willing to let that slide for now. It wasn't as if he had expected it to be any better in his first week, after all he and his friends had studied ahead a fair amount last year.

He was eager to get back into the swing of his little study group, it had been far too long since he had met up with everyone. Also he had next to no hope again for defense against the dark arts, considering Lockhart pranced around his modestly sized classroom more than taught, there was little hope for the lessons to be productive.

He had been mortified to find out that Tracey and Daphne thought highly of Lockhart, he had never taken them for avid 'witch weekly' readers. Actually most of the female students he saw or knew seemed to at least tolerate the buffoon, even Susan and Hannah.

After his last astronomy lesson of the week, he had been assaulted by another small piece of parchment, it was from Yaxley again, telling him the meeting time and place. So on their first day off Harry and Daphne found themselves in the dungeons at the crack of dawn, at least it wasn't winter yet or else Harry would have found it very hard to find the motivation.

A portrait of a noble looking knight watched them approach, his armor glistened in the reflected dragon fire he dutifully ignored. "Well met young sir and lady. What brings you down this long forsaken path." his voice boomed with self importance, and the dragon tried to swat him with its tail. "Hurry, fools."

"Perfection." Was Daphne's curt reply, Harry had come to link this stern side of Daphne with things she was eager to do, she wasn't one to half ass something. Harry found it slightly intimidating, Daphne had a cold self assurance when she set her mind to things, not to mention the way her blue eyes seemed to stab him with their urgency. Oh right… he had been dawdling.

Harry entered first, he held his hand close to his wand just in case, it was never a bad idea to be cautious. The small room was as bright as the great hall, despite having no windows, there were a few plush chairs scattered around the outer edge. A large platform was raised in the center of the room, it looked almost exactly like a dueling stage, Harry didn't know what to make of it.

Daphne brushed past him and made her way towards Yaxley, he was lounging in a small recliner reading a tome from ages past. He closed the book and gave the two a small smile, he rose to his feet in a slow but graceful way.

"Arrived early, good idea." His eyes flickered to the third year students, Harry saw them tense up as they watched on. "They tried to make us wait on them, they learned better quickly enough."

Harry didn't like the sound of that, it sounded all too much like what his worst fears were. If Yaxley were anything like his father, or his father's friends, a little torture and unspeakable crime were of little concern.

"You see, giving that jumped up little toad the password was the completion of a magical contract between yourselves and Slytherin house itself." Harry narrowed his eyes and looked to Daphne, who was almost completely unchanged, except a fist shook beside her hip.

"Mainly for secrecy you'll understand, that and a certain amount of obedience." Yaxley continued, Harry tried not to gulp, there were very few ways to shake off a magical contract, and he didn't think he could scrape up a few decades of curse breaking knowledge out of thin air.

"You are here to learn, some ancient magic from Salazar Slytherin himself, some even older. You will, eventually, will be tasked with shaping this noble house. And as such we will prepare you for that, among other things."

"What do you mean, how did we enter this 'contract' if we didn't know about it?" Harry asked, venom dripping from his tone.

"How do mudbloods get enrolled in the school, how do wands exactly work." Yaxley said with a hint of amusement, Harry knew his face betrayed his anger at that term. "Magic is very old Potter, it would do you well to respect that."

Daphne swore quietly, but she still stepped up to Yaxley adamantly. "So what do you want?"

"Nothing nefarious little viper." He said with a laugh, he whistled sharply to the third year students. "Just a little test."

Both third years climbed up onto the dueling stage and watched them with a hint of eagerness in their stance. Harry looked at Yaxely who merely nodded to the platform, Harry climbed up ahead of Daphne. She followed behind him, but she didn't seem eager about how things had turned out.

"What is the goal? What are the rules?" Harry asked Yaxley.

"I think that's something you need to decide with Gladwell and Sivvers." Yaxley's grin made Harry feel sick.

And then the spell hit him, he was thrown to the ground and had the wind knocked out of him. He could hardly move, but he could hear Daphne casting some defensive spells, like that had done in practice last year.

Harry struggled up. His breath was still hard to come by and his entire front side ached. But he stood. He could see the pair of third years casting some nasty curses at Daphne, but she was blocking them with an expertise he hadn't expected.

Her movements were precise and fast. He found himself watching, until a jet of yellow flew past his head. He didn't need a third warning to get him into action.

He tried to rely on what had worked before, he had not practiced for a fight in a while. His 'aguamenti' spell was countered by a sudden gust of wind blowing it off to the side. Harry knew these students were fighting for more than fun after that.

They cast a few spells that made Harry feel sick, Sivvers he thought it was, threw a bone breaking curse at him. Harry was nimble enough to avoid it, but if he hadn't seen it he would have been in trouble. Daphne had been casting less defensively since Harry had rejoined the fight and it showed she gave almost as little mercy. Harry saw a blasting curse just miss Sivvers after her spell had missed Harry.

Harry tried to cover for Daphne for a bit and allow her to get the third years on the back foot. His protego charm was weak and unpracticed, but it still blocked a spell when needed. He was still much better at transfiguring things. He just wished he had anything to transfigure.

A crackling red light smashed into Sivvers and she went down in a thump of dead weight, Daphne had managed to land a stunner on her. Harry rushed forward to put more pressure on Gladwell, but when he got closer he shot off his own stunner at Harry. A quick roll got him out of the way and he began going on the offensive.

A cutting curse hit Gladwell on the hand and a tripping jinx knocked him over. Harry tried to cast a stunner but was hit by a blasting curse and fell back, his leg ached with the pain. He caught a glimpse of Daphne laying face down on the platform, also stunned.

Harry tried to stand but his foot exploded in pain, he dared not look to see what was damaged, and how bad it was. Gladwell stood and smirked, his wand slashed through the air. Blood burst from Harry's left arm, and a scream echoed in the small room.

Harry felt his wand as he gripped it as tightly as possible, he staggered to the side and tried to get some distance between him and Gladwell. He needed more time to react to his spells without Daphne to help him. Gladwell's wand twitched, and Harry moved more by instinct than anything.

He threw himself to the ground under the bone breaker curse, and fired off a tickling hex, followed instantly by a body bind curse. He countered the hex with disdain but the body bind slipped through and hit him. Harry watched as Gladwell got stiff then stopped moving all together.

Harry sighed, his leg burned with pain, and his left arm was still bleeding though he couldn't feel much pain. He tried to roll over but gave up pretty quickly. He heard Yaxley jump onto the platform, before long he heard him cast an 'rennervate'. Harry tried again to scramble up, but his leg refused to work.

A hand gently brushed his head as he was rolled over, Daphne looked down at him with a good deal of concern on her face.

"Little help?" he asked with an attempt of a grin.

Yaxley appeared over her shoulder and cast a spell at Harry, suddenly his arm felt sore, the pain shot up his arm and into his very being. And as quickly it left. He could move his left arm freely and not hurt.

"You're lucky that wasn't something more dangerous." Yaxley said, with some disdain. "Professor Snape doesn't enjoy having to heal students who are stupid enough to run at their opponents. That foot will need madam Pomfrey though. Greengrass will take you."

"Thanks." Harry muttered, Daphne helped him to his foot and cast a cleaning charm on his robes. Yaxley moved on to help the third year students. Harry and Daphne hobbled out of the room.

"Same time next wednesday." Yaxley called, Daphne swore again as they left the room. As they walked down the hall they ran into the seventh year members, who looked Harry and Daphne up and down.

"You beat them?" The head boy asked. Daphne answered and the two shared a look. "Yaxley will be so smug after this. Get Potter cleaned up. I'll have a book sent to your room Greengrass, you'll enjoy the contents… make sure you both take the time to read it."

Harry watched the girl, she had beady eyes and red hair, and a look that made him feel like he needed to wash. She didn't blink at his mangled foot, or at the fact that they won their… duel. But when Head Boy mentioned a book her eyes flashed with unmistakable anger.

As they stumbled on their way, Harry found himself leaning on Daphne more and more for support, she never complained though. He tried many times to bring some of the questions he wanted to ask up, but each time he felt the words catch in his mouth.

It wasn't until they had been seen by Pomfrey and had her forcefully align his foot back to where it was supposed to be, and she cast her healing spell, and then gave him a potion for the pain… it wasn't until all that that he felt like he could ask Daphne about it all.

"Daphne, is the magical contract thing true, is that possible?" Harry asked, he had never paid much attention to legal and more bureaucratic aspects of the wizarding world.

Daphne nodded, then sighed. "I tried to tell Pomfrey that a third year student had done it, but I couldn't. So I had to say we had been messing around with new spells. I had a much better lie thought up, but something made me take the blame for it." She was silent for a few seconds. "I don't like this Harry."

He could almost believe she was afraid if not for the rage in her expression. He grabbed her hand. "Me either, we will figure this out." He replied and gave her a comforting squeeze.

Pomfrey bustled back in and told them to get out, with a stern warning about messing around with magic they didn't understand. Harry was quite happy to be walking on both feet so quickly, he had been fearing skele gro would be needed.

As they walked Harry asked the other question he had been burning to ask. "Thats Petir Gorall, no idea about his family, apparently he's from some balkan country but Durmstrang would make more sense then." Daphne replied. "The girl is Selice Runcorn. Before you ask, I have no idea if her father was a supporter. After today I don't doubt it."

Harry met her eyes and nodded, they had walked head first into a pit of cobras and got out with only a small injury. The memory made him shudder, Daphne squeezed his hand and gave him a teasing smile.

That was when Harry realized, he was still holding her hand. It was nothing compared to a kiss, but considering how Daphne usually showed affection he found his heart racing.

After he had gotten a shower and fresh clothes he met Daphne in the common room, she was pouring over a book. Harry couldn't make anything out as her hair fanned out around it in an almost protective way. When he got her attention she gasped and looked around.

"This book has some spells my father refused to tell me about, let alone teach them." Her voice held awe and fear in equal parts, Harry felt his mood drop, that sentence was terrifying to hear. "This book has to be illegal Harry."

Harry gulped. He felt a pull towards that book, one he couldn't fight. "Who wrote it?" He asked hesitantly.

"The heir of Slytherin." Daphne scoffed. "The Slytherin line has been effectively dead for too many generations, this book is way too recent for that." Harry nodded, it was a brave boast to call yourself the heir of Slytherin, one many might try if it gained them enough.

Maybe Susan would know something about magical contracts. He deeply hoped she did, considering the pages Daphne was reading were about compulsion magic he couldn't shake that feeling drawing him in, after all this book was certainly illegal.

In the weeks that followed Harry had not managed to ask Susan about magical contracts, the words died as soon as he thought them. Harry had begun to get pretty frustrated with the situation.

The following meeting with the 'Slytherin Elite' as they called themselves was much more tame, they had shown their structured side, with the upper years practicing some serious dark magic. Harry couldn't believe these students had the desire to learn such spells.

However when Gorall called on them to demonstrate what they had studied out of the book he had sent Daphne, Harry and Daphne performed some of the spells flawlessly. They had stuck to the more practical ones, Harry assumed Daphne agreed to that to make him feel more comfortable, after all he came from a famously 'light' family.

It made him uncomfortable to be learning those spells, but he couldn't shake the pride that flooded him when they were applauded by the 'elite'. Each older member heaped praise on them and made a good show of being decent people, well except for Gladwell and Shivvers.

They had apparently been relegated to the lowest of the low, the hate filled looks they cast Harry and Daphne, he knew it wouldn't be long until there was another altercation.

An altercation he had been expecting was with Draco Malfoy, but the boy had been quiet and surly, perhaps he had taken the lack of invitation to the 'Slytherin Elite' to heart but Harry didn't think Draco was able to give up so quickly. He embodied ambition. It just so happened that after a month back at school Draco hadn't even tried to curse him from behind yet.

Harry would have been feeling pretty secure about it if not for the hate filled looks Malfoy gave him. No, there would be trouble soon, he was sure. Other than quidditch training, classes and extracurricular activity things had settled down one way or another.

He had been flown ragged at least twice a week in the name of quidditch by Pucey and the rest of the team, Harry grudgingly accepted the workload was paying off big time. He had learned to spot certain set plays from a way away, and Pucey claimed he was improving well. The first game against Hufflepuff couldn't come quick enough.

His mum had warned him about showing off, apparently his dad had been quite the showman, so Harry did not boast or make silly bets. All he knew was he would have to wait a little while longer before getting any kisses from Susan and Hannah after the game was over.

Harry had been trying to keep an eye out for his younger sister too, after all kids could be mean, he was happy to see her in the company of a few first year girls at all times. He was not ready for Rosie to have any boyfriends yet, he knew all too well what boys were like.

It seemed like she had formed a group similar to his, with only Slytherin missing from her group. Harry didn't blame her, outside of Daphne and Tracey his own year was a rather miserable lot. No matter how often he tried to get conversation out of them, he was met with sullen resistance.

Malfoy had friends so loyal they should have been sorted into Hufflepuff, it seemed like Nott was the only one with any mind of his own. But that was hardly a good thing considering who his father supported.

Classes had gotten a bit more challenging after the first week, to the point that once he failed to complete his transfiguration in one class and had gotten a stern look from McGonagall. Harry didn't feel like he had been falling behind his study group friends, so either they were holding back or things had gotten harder.

Harry stood in the changing room at the quidditch stadium, the early morning breeze helped calm his anticipation. His broom bobbed around in his grip while he waited, Harry saw Malfoy looking just as eager to fly, despite being up against Diggory, well Malfoy was used to fighting against overwhelming odds. When the curtain was opened they strode out onto the pitch, and the roars from the stands welcomed them.

Harry darted off to his goal hoops as fast as possible after the whistle blew. He had learned in practice what dawdling could do, his team had gotten possession of the quaffle so he could study the players.

The beaters for Hufflepuff were a pair of brutish and smart boys, they knew who to aim for, and so far they were focusing most of their hits at the Slytherin beaters. They seemed to be trying to even out the playing field a bit, they clearly didn't think much of Slew and Pucey, both of whom were eager to prove themselves. The newest chaser was a fourth year girl called Perkins, who could fly very well, her skills were a bit on the rough side but Slew grew into her first game very well.

After Hufflepuff conceded three goals without even testing him, they changed their plan. Slew was dodging bludgers for a long time after that, Pucey tried as hard as he could to keep some stability but he was overwhelmed. Which meant Harry got overwhelmed too.

After letting his third goal in he swore and kicked out at the air, he had managed a few saves but there was always another chaser trying to score. Perkins had been a bit shaky and lost the quaffle a lot, he could see the nerves getting to her big time. It wasn't until they had fallen to 40-80 that Pucey called a timeout.

Harry called for more attention on the beaters, they had taken Slew out of the game even without knocking her out. The others agreed, Pucey still pulled Malfoy aside to give him some instruction. As they rose into the sky again things went well again, they scored twice to catch back up.

Harry kept making saves, it was much easier without five or six chasers right next to him. He stretched far to reach a shot that was going into his leftmost hoop, his fist managed to punch it away, only for a bludger to crash into his elbow.

The stab of pain rocked him off his broom, Pucey managed to catch him before he fell, but his arm was hanging limp beside him. He couldn't play like this, but if he went off the team was sure to lose, there was no backup keeper.

Madam Hooch tried to recommend trying to get help from Pomfrey, but it would take too long, he soared back up with one hand trying to steer and maneuver his broom.

He still made a few saves, but he struggled to reach the quaffle and the far hoops. His teammates tried as hard as they could to take the pressure off him, but they could only do so much, before long the score had gotten close to unfixable. Hufflepuff were up 180-100, only some very clever play from Pucey and Slew kept them close.

DIggory and Malfoy had been quiet so far, Malfoy had tried a few sudden dives for the snitch, but they were all feints that Diggory didn't fall for. That made the game drag on a while, which made Harry suffer more and more. The quaffle slipped past his hands a few more times and Harry felt the urge to vomit rising up in him.

This was meant to be his chance to prove his worth to the whole school, instead he was being humiliated. Even if he was injured he felt he should be able to play better.

Malfoy went for another dive as the Hufflepuff chasers swarmed onto his goal, that was the plan Pucey must have told him, to try and divert attention away. Harry cried out in joy when he caught the quaffle in one hand, he quickly threw it to Perkins, who immediately spun and shot off.

The bludger than crashing into his stomach nearly made him cry from the pain. A bloody hippogryph wouldn't have hurt as much. As he fell he could see Malfoy holding the snitch in his hands, waving it wildly. The impact was dull but still enough to send a spasm up his arm.

The hospital wing was a great place for a large gathering, what with Madam Pomfrey glaring at anyone who did anything, and the obvious suffering of Harry. So when his friends and teammates all tried to comfort him, all he could think of was an animal in a muggle zoo.

Then Madam Pomfrey started giving him his potions, she started with one for the pain this time though. It didn't take long for his teammates to go celebrate, not that he could blame them, the halloween feast would be starting in a few hours.

Daphne and Tracey stayed behind to keep him company, Harry felt himself smiling like an idiot, it was nice to know they cared. Before long the door opened and his sisters walked in followed by Susan and Hannah. Harry sat up to give them a decent greeting, the bandages Madam Pomfrey had wrapped him up in made it hard going but he managed.

"You idiot, why didn't you quit." Rosie said as she rushed up and threw her arms around him.

He patted her hair and then gave her a warm hug. "I had to show what us Potter's are made of."

"Clay I presume?" Daphne asked, Tracey and Hannah laughed.

"Something like that." He replied.

"You did really well today, Wood even complimented your play." Jasmine said, Wood knew a great deal about quidditch and was known for his talent so Harry puffed his chest out a little.

"Oh stop Jasmine, we don't need his ego getting any bigger." Susan said warmly.

"Yeah last time we had to ask Flitwick for a head shrinking charm to bear being around him." Hannh added.

"Wasn't that the cranium shrinking solution from Snape?" Tracey asked.

"No that was…" Susan tried to say.

"Harhar very funny girls." Harry snapped.

They all laughed after that, Harry enjoyed all of them in small doses, but together they were unbearable. They chatted for a little while before Daphne and Tracey went to the common room to get changed for the feast, Susan and Hannah stayed around for a little while longer. Rosie's friends came to collect her and rushed her off to the feast.

Harry and Jasmine talked about little things, avoiding the big halloween thing, it wasn't a touchy subject or anything but Jasmine got surly when being reminded of the night _HE_ had come for her. Harry had no idea what must have been going on through her head but he would be there for her.

Even if he were the one in the hospital bed, being treated like he had dragon pox, by a woman old enough to be his great grandmother. After a while Madam Pomfrey let him leave, she clearly liked having people stay in her hospital wing otherwise she wouldn't keep them so long to be sure they were fine.

"You want to catch the end of the feast?" Harry asked

"I'd rather not. Somehow eating piles of sweets hardly sounds enticing."

"I dunno, not like you've got a boyfriend to impress."

"You prat Harry." She hit him, gently and on the arm that wasn't just mangled. But still, he was only just out of that place.

_Kill… Rip… Tear…_

Harry gulped and looked around, he caught Jasmine freeze too.

"What under Merlin's robes was that?"

"I'm not sure Jasmine, maybe we should go back."

He heard it again that same but somehow more urgent, and Jasmine took off in the direction it came from. Harry had to sprint to keep up, it didn't take long until he was splashing in a flood of water.

The corridor was soaked, and there on the wall written in something a little bit too red was a message. "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware." Harry wasn't sure if he or Jasmine had spoken the words, his eyes fell on a rigid shape that looked like a cat. He knew they had to leave, being caught here would do neither of them any favours.

As soon as he grabbed Jasmine to make her move he heard splashing coming from down the hall. Before long at least half the school was crowded around them, pointing and murmuring about the message, Harry met Daphne's eyes in the crowd who looked stunned and afraid.

Then it hit Harry, 'the heir.' He really had to get away right now. Then Filches voice boomed out, the janitor stumbled up in filthy robes and brushed his fingers along his cat. He rounded on Jasmine with a threatening fist balled up, Harry darted in front of her.

"Argus!" Dumbledore's voice was filled with cold purpose. He looked over the scene and sent teachers off to dismiss the crowd, his eyes glued Harry and Jasmine to the spot.

"What happened?" He asked them.

"Nothing Professor, we just got out of the hospital wing and were talking. Then we found this." Harry said evenly.

"We didn't see anyone on our way here." Jasmine added. Harry was relieved to hear her not add more.

Dumbledore watched them; he looked as if he were waiting for them to confess. "You had better return to your common rooms, I have no doubt you'll have a lot of questions to return to, you'd better get a good head start."

They murmured their thanks and took off, Harry had no intention of speaking to anyone, anyone except Daphne. He barely noticed when Jasmine left, his mind was racing with unpleasant thoughts.

When he entered the common room he saw most of the house gathered, even Snape was there. Snape had been talking to Yaxley and Runcorn, when Harry entered he looked as if he wanted to round on him but swept off and began talking to Malfoy. Harry couldn't see Daphne anywhere, he walked down the pathway to the girls dormitories, he had no idea which one was Daphne's.

He knocked on a few, there was no reply from inside anyone, eventually his knock was answered. Daphne's Blonde hair and blue eyes looked wild from the crack of the door that she opened, when she took in who it was she grabbed him and pulled him inside.

His eyes fell on the bed, lurking in the middle of the small room, Harry stood awkwardly realizing that this was Daphne's bedroom. A little bit late for that, he mused.

Daphne rounded on him. "Please tell me that was your idea of a bad joke." Her voice held a dangerous edge, and not in a fun way.

"No way… I'm freaking out…"

Daphne pulled that book out from her small desk, there was nothing remarkable about it, from the outside at least.

"I've looked through this." She waved the book at him. "There's nothing about the Chamber, but I'm convinced it's the same Heir. They were saying that it was opened once about fifty years ago, it's all over the common room."

"That book could be fifty years old. I've never heard of a book opening legends though." He said.

"You need to read more then." Daphne said tartly.

Harry sighed, the start of the year was already going awful. Daphne continued her pacing, judging by her muttered words he figured she was thinking along the same line as him.

"We need to learn more about this Harry, this 'Heir' and this so-called magical contract. Both are urgently important, I just hope they aren't linked." She said once she calmed enough to sit on the edge of her bed.

Harry couldn't help but notice her room's disheveled state, he never would have believed Daphne to be so messy, what with how her hair was always immaculate. He realized he had been silent too long when she crooked an eyebrow at him and turned.

Her wand flashed and a bundle of clothes flew into a basket near the attached washroom. Harry could have sworn he had seen a flash of colourful underwear, the glare Daphne cast him made him gulp.

"At Christmas I'll ask my uncles, they aren't as stupid as they act. Maybe mum will know something."

"We need it a little faster than that Harry. This is serious. We could be linked to this." Daphne said darkly.

"Yeah, I'll do my share of research dont worry."

"Make sure you do. You had better leave, and don't be seen, rumors spread like fiendfyre around here." Daphne said, sounding a little dazed towards the end.

Harry backed out and found himself watching his housemates gossiping about the Chamber. It turned out most of the upper years seemed pretty glad that the 'mudbloods' were getting theirs, Harry stalked out of the common room to his own bedroom to rest for the night.

When he opened the door he was assaulted by an urgent piece of parchment, the usual kind from Yaxley, so he settled down at his desk and opened it up. He expected admonishment, but it was just a summons to an emergency meeting that night.

With a sigh Harry burned the piece of parchment and kicked off his shoes, he may as well get some reading done before everything went completely pear shaped.

The self proclaimed 'Slytherin Elite' were as baffled by the day's events as the rest of the school. Apparently the contract ensured that they couldn't lie in an emergency meeting, as such Yaxley and Gorall were convinced by what they heard.

"You are all tasked to watch your entire year group. I hardly think a first year could find the Chamber of Secrets, let alone open it." Gonall said sternly.

"Watch for those acting out of character, especially those who are more confident." Yaxley added.

It didn't seem that they were too concerned about the Chamber itself, more that they had missed who it was who opened it. They were upset Harry could tell, despite them not showing it on their faces, their intense gazes told him enough.

Daphne agreed with his conclusion, she gave him an odd weighing look that made him feel a foot or two shorter. Harry could forget he had been top of most classes last year when she looked at him like that, but he had always been aware of how she listened to things that weren't said.

It had scared him a little at first, it was a sign of something sinister in his mind. But it was how Daphne was, she was cautious and ready to get any advantage she could, and if her enemies offered that information up she would absorb it.

Harry smirked at her, Daphne just turned and walked off, leaving him to rush to catch up to her.

Any book in the library linked to the Chamber of Secrets was checked out of the library for at least a month in advance, so Harry and Daphne joined the long line of disappointed students. Hermione had been a blessing in disguise, as she had checked out a copy of Hogwarts A History not an hour after the message on the wall had been written.

She had been unimpressed to learn that the so called enemies were muggle born students, Harry wished he could give her some good news there but he couldn't bring himself to lie to her about it. He would talk to his mother about it, if anyone knew what might help it was her.

Daphne had been a surprising source of comfort, she had reminded Hermione that anyone wanting to get to her would have to go through the rest of them. Harry hadn't expected that, but the confident assurances from Tracey, Susan and Hannah were expected.

Their study group had shrunk a little as they started to practice spells together more frequently, there was a vast amount of talent on display in the group Harry was pleased to see. Neville and Tracey were by far the least confident, but even they were capable, regardless of what they said.

Harry sat with his other year mates, they were gathered in the library trying to decide on their next set of spells worth learning. Hermione never liked to learn anything used to attack with, Harry was more than happy to stick with that line of thought, especially since he and Daphne had been learning from that book.

If things were going the way he thought, this little group might look out for each other regardless of house enmity, which would mean learning defensive spells would be very beneficial. Neville as usual liked to explore more obscure aspects of magic, mostly herbology related.

Susan had been talking to her aunt about what was worth learning, so her recommendations carried some serious weight. Hannah had taken him back behind the greenhouses once or twice, so she was very much in his good books. He wondered if Susan knew about those times, that thought gave him a cold chill.

Tracey and Daphne entered the library followed by a tall pale Ravenclaw student, Tracey laughed at something he had said. When they reached their table, Daphne introduced him oddly.

"Harry here he is, everyone else this is Archie Montague, he's a third year." She said and then introduced everyone else to him. Harry could have sworn he had said something about preferring if it were his sister who had been asking for him, funny that.

Before long he sat down and settled in to the rest, he took a quick look at the books gathered and scoffed. "You kids are way out of your depths here. The Protego charm isn't easy, not to mention this transfiguration text. McGonagall would stripe your hides if she knew you were reading that."

Harry felt a swift kick hit him, he tried not to react, he had known Daphne was up to something. And a kick was pretty mild for her.

He gave his wand a delicate swish over a book. The incantation still felt odd on his tongue, but he still made it work, he really needed practice with the spell though. One of the books sprouted legs and began to run around the table aimlessly, with more practice he could control it's direction.

"As you can see, Harry didn't want you here for your opinions." Daphne said harshly, but Montague was staring wide eyed at the book. "Archie, your family is old, surely you know something about the Chamber."

"I doubt he couldn't know, the Montague's are well respected by most families." Tracey added, sounding a touch breathy. Harry had never noticed how Tracey had a strong enticing confidence, not to mention her pretty eyes.

It wasn't until Montague coughed that Harry tore his eyes off Tracey, Archie had a slight blush on his cheeks but he nodded slowly.

"I know something, the Chamber of Secrets was opened once before, recently too. My mother said it was fifty years ago, her first husband had been at school when it happened." He said.

Archie looked around slowly then lowered his voice. "She said Hagrid was expelled back then for the death of a girl."

Everyone at the table gasped.

Archie leaned back importantly and continued. "I say it's only a matter of time until he's arrested, don't know what Dumbledore was thinking keeping him around this long."

With that he overstayed his welcome, it was subtle, but Harry saw it. Susan pulled away from him and Hermione had picked her wand up off the table. Neville looked puzzled, and Hannah was disapproving, but Harry could tell the damage was done.

Tracey laughed like he had made a brilliant joke, she even laid a hand on his arm and sighed. Then it hit Harry, she was flirting with him, she liked this idiot. Harry had no idea what to make of that, he hadn't seen Tracey show any romantic interest in anyone. Harry started to stand up, then Daphne firmly placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you so much for your help Archie, we will escort you back to the Great Hall if you'd like." She said.

Harry gaped, Archie gave Tracey a shy smile and nodded and rose.

"Potter's been attacked by the heir." A voice yelled out. Harry idly heard Madam Pince hiss her usual warnings. But Harry blew past everything between himself and the tall sixth year in the door to the library. His beady little eyes bulged when Harry grabbed him and demanded where she was.

"I dunno, the hospital wing I guess." Harry sprinted down the corridors. He heard running behind him but ignored it.

The distance to the hospital wing had never seemed so bad. His legs burned long before reaching it. After a while he heard a buzz of voices, as he rounded the corner he found a large group of students gathered around the entrance to the hospital wing.

He didn't care who he barged into, before long he was at the front, and saw Jasmine. She sat on the floor outside the hospital wing holding her head in her hands. Rosie… He hadn't considered Rosie could have been attacked.

Jasmine looked up at the yells from the people he had barged out the way. She looked confused at seeing him, he had to look a right mess. Why was she confused?

"What happened? Is Rosie… Is she okay?" He gasped out, he hadn't realized how out of breath he was. He prepared himself to lose that last breath when Jasmine opened her mouth.

"Harry, it's terrible." A short blur of red hair rushed at him. Rosie sobbed into his chest and he weakly wrapped his arms around her. Jasmine just watched him.

"What happened?" He found himself asking weakly.

"Colin was attacked, Jasmine found him not ten minutes ago. They are saying he's been petrified too." Rosie said between sobs. Harry hated the relief that flooded him, but he had feared the worst. He doubted whoever Colin was would agree what the worst was.

When the drama died down Harry sat with Rosie giving her some comfort, Susan sat beside her talking to Ginny Weasley who had been in a state too. Hermione sat awkwardly on her other side, she might have had a rough relationship with Ron Weasley but she wouldn't leave Ginny to cry without helping.

A few of Jasmine's friends had escorted her out, trying to convince her it wasn't her fault. Harry was just trying to calm himself, he had been expecting the worst. Jasmine dead. He was shocked at how much it affected him, just the thought was almost too much. He could never manage his dad's bravado with his jokes about _him_ trying and failing to kill Jasmine.

It wasn't until the food appeared at the great hall that Harry began to feel a little more human once again. The hall was loud and an excited but fearful buzz gripped the room.

Daphne had been watching him, he had tried to ignore it, but it was hard not to squirm under that piercing blue eyed gaze. Harry must have tensed because Tracey leaned over the table and patted his hand and gave him a soft smile. Then all the events before flooded back to him.

He turned to look at Daphne, she looked paler than usual, was it some kind of makeup to allure that Montague boy? Harry couldn't shake the looks that Tracey had given him, and the way Daphne had behaved… He had to be missing something.

"What was the deal with Montague?" He hissed.

"He's from a well connected family, and we needed answers. We got those answers." She spoke quietly but firmly. Harry was aware of the closeness between them, and it was odd that she sat next to him at meals. She usually sat opposite him, with Tracey swapping sides occasionally.

"And?"

"Ughh fine. He has a… reputation… So I asked Tracey to flirt a little." Her cheeks had started to fill with red, Harry could feel his own burning.

"What about my part? What was that for?" He asked, he was still leaning in closer to her, and she didn't pull away.

"Simple. That way I could manipulate him, and it looks like you were the one doing it."

Harry stared at her. It took him a few tries to process her words.

"What?" His elegant reply sounded a little hoarse in his ears.

Daphne leaned in slightly and brushed her hair out of her face. "This way he thinks it was your idea, your plan. If any rumors come from it people will know that you're the shrewd one."

Harry began to protest but she cut him off with a glare. "You want that, it lets me do things my way without suspicion. I still need information on magical contracts Harry, this is all important to me, to us. We need every edge we can get."

Harry frowned, Montague clearly knew something of the Chamber, but it hadn't solved anything.

"But what did we learn from that, nothing useful?" He asked.

"Plenty Harry, we learned someone died, a girl. We know when it was, and we can be pretty sure it wasn't Hagrid." She pulled back and gave him a small smile. "I know you got a scare, but I _need_ you functioning."

Harry nodded. "Sorry Daphne, yeah I'll sort myself out soon."

"Don't apologize, just focus." She said, sounding an awful lot like McGonagall. "Something is happening in this school right now, Petrification is very dark magic, outside of some obscure magical creatures."

"Yeah no kidding." He agreed, he nodded. "Thanks Daphne." A thought occurred to him suddenly. "Why is it good if people think I'm the evil mastermind?"

She gave him a warm laugh at that. "Because it gives you a bigger reputation, which is growing in case you hadn't heard. And I can suffer my own reputation lowering, it's better if they underestimate me. Let them think of me as Parkinson to your Malfoy."

Harry nodded slowly, he could see the benefit. And it certainly didn't hurt him much, until someone was to do something about the 'evil' potter. Tracey coughed into her hand, Daphne instantly pulled away and gained a demeanor of anger. Harry blinked… How much of this did Daphne and Tracey plan, how much had they manipulated with him…

Tracey gave him a warm grin, much like the one she had given Montague…

Harry groaned.

AN: Well here's the next chapter, this is setting up for a lot of the things that got me really excited to start this fic, so i hope you all enjoy it too.

I've always loved Slytherin Harry fics, as I prefer things edging towards the darker side of the norm. But one massive frustration was how every single eleven year old child randomly acted like a politician in those fics. And how nearly none of them had an ounce of cunning or ambition or whatever. So that's a big goal of mine, to create an environment that feels like a good mix of subtle and clever Slytherins and cannon Slytherins.

Please ask me about any concerns, and let me know what you think so far. Thanks so very much for reading.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Hogwarts strained from the aftermath of Colin's attack, a cat being attacked was one thing but a student was another thing entirely. Harry saw at meal times that Dumbledore was stressed, his eyes roamed across the students, and as the day passed it only got worse.

Fewer and fewer students lingered in the halls, and when they did it was usually only in large groups. Harry couldn't blame them, but what were they supposed to do if whoever was doing this attacked them.

So when a notice went up in Slytherin common room about a dueling club starting up Harry excitedly gathered his friends, it certainly wouldn't hurt to learn anything new. Perhaps Flitwick was the teacher in charge, if so Harry expected the club would be a massive success.

As he and the other Slytherin's entered the great hall, Harry, Daphne and Tracey slipped off to join their other friends. The exchanged usual greetings, and settled in to wait for the professor. When Gilderoy Lockhart blustered in looking like an over sized peacock Harry groaned, Susan flashed a grin at him and Tracey muttered something about envy.

If he wanted to prance around like a fool he would do it without being an utter disgrace, lucky for Hogwarts he didn't prance around. The fool was exactly that, a fool, and an awful teacher. If Harry learned anything from this he would eat a shoe.

Harry heard a murmur rise up in the crowd, he stopped scowling at Lockhart and his eyes fell on Severus Snape. His head of house prowled slowly behind Lockhart with a dangerous look on his face, Harry felt a smile bloom on his face, at least there would be some amusement.

Harry sent a grin at Susan who had grasped Hannah's hand in concern. Before long the two professors were starting a mock duel, and it ended as soon as Snape's wand moved. The simple disarming charm smashed into Lockhart, and he was sent flying.

Some mumbled discontent rose up but died down when Lockhart rose and bowed, he recovered his wand and set about grouping up students to practice disarming. Harry was surprised the man didn't even look embarrassed, perhaps it was planned… no he wouldn't give the fool that much credit.

Most of the students below fourth year eagerly set about learning the new spell, but the more studious or older students began mock dueling on their own. Harry found himself facing Hannah, he took the customary three strides away then turned. She was ready as she cast a leg locking jinx at him, he side stepped it and cast back a befuddling hex.

She gave him a snort of derision, dodged it and launched a more serious assault. Her wand work was fast and precise, not a single mistake and he had to work to avoid being caught off guard, but the spells she used were really tame. He had a lot more knowledge of harmful spells than he would like, so he dodged some and blocked others.

He cast an 'expelliarmus' at her and she jumped out of the way, her own was flying at him as soon as she landed. His shield charm blocked the spell but broke, so her next two spells hit him, an itching jinx and a tongue tying curse. He hopped around on the spot itching at his chest, while trying to speak around his now bothersome tongue.

Not only had he lost, he must look like a complete fool. Hannah laughed at his plight as she approached, Harry wished he could stop trying to speak, he was blathering out some incoherent nonsense. He saw some of his friends watching with grins, he wanted to hide.

"You're cute when you're embarrassed." Hannah said heavily in a whisper. She cast the counter curse to the itching, Harry was frustrated, he wanted to yell. Her smirk made him swallow heavily, he had seen that smirk before. He saw more than just his friends watching now.

Hannah's blonde curly hair fluttered as she planted a… friendly kiss… on his lips, in front of everyone. Harry barely moved, he could feel those eyes on him, judging him and judging her. He barely noticed she had stopped the tongue tying curse. He shook his head to try and clear his mind, he flapped his tongue around a bit to make sure it was okay.

Susan ran up and congratulated Hannah and the two laughed together, Tracey gave him a grin and a wink. Harry tried to see what Daphne made of it but she was facing away from him, still busy dueling Neville. Harry felt relieved for some reason. He met Jasmine's eye and she gave him a thumbs up, Harry's face burned for a long time that night.

A few small commotions later, Malfoy and Ron Weasley had gotten into a slightly more serious duel, after both were given detentions and docked points. The Weasley twins, not to be out done, had an elaborate 'duel' themselves, mainly mis aiming spells and 'accidentally' hitting the watchers. After the Hall had calmed down and been settled down they made their way back to their common rooms.

The day after that another student had been attacked, Justin Finch-Fletchly, he had been a regular member of Harry's study group, despite being a more reserved boy he was kind and patient with his friends. Harry felt some small amount of rage building at Dumbledore and the other teachers, they were supposed to keep them safe.

Rumors were circulating in the Slytherin common room that Dumbldore was going to be sacked, but Harry knew that would be a mistake. Despite seeming to have done nothing so far, he doubted anyone else could do more.

Not many of his housemates shared the sentiment though, Harry just hoped the people in charge of making that decision were not as useless as their children. Somehow he doubted they were.

Harry was pleasantly surprised when Hannah and Susan both had begun to show more affection in public, he enjoyed it a lot, even if it made him feel awkward. It was just kissing after all. The only person who seemed affected by it was Daphne, Harry knew she thought it should be a private thing, she was raised to respect 'the old ways.'

He wasn't sure if they were being more forward because they wanted him to make a move, or if it was just because fewer and fewer people were around. Either way Harry wasn't about to complain after all Hannah had started to grow bolder and bolder with each passing day, and Susan was getting competitive.

He had caught Hermione and Tracey watching some of their kisses with a flush on their faces, and with a lot of interest. Despite the mood of the school Harry was personally feeling pretty good about things.

It was a week before the end of term when Harry's magical mirror seemingly awoke and got his attention, he was lucky to even be awake, it was really early. He went over to it and it resolved into Jasmine's face. She looked panicked.

"I just got done talking to mum." She said hastily, Harry instantly felt shame flood him, he had forgotten to talk to her since early November. "She said dad's just been taken in at St Mungo's. You need to get dressed, we are heading over there now. Can you get to McGonagall's classroom in ten minutes?"

Harry told her he could, he rushed around his room trying to find some clean casual clothes. He pulled on some muggle clothes and darted out of his room, he got to the transfiguration classroom in no time. Professor McGonagall was sipping her tea while his mum sat next to her, when the door closed behind him she looked up and rushed to hug him.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"I'm not sure, they said he said he was attacked, when I got there they were working on him." She looked like she had gotten little sleep. "There was no one there to answer any questions."

"How long ago was that."

"A few hours ago."

Harry felt his stomach drop, St Mungo's was the best, if anything took a few hours it was very serious. He didn't trust talking so he sat down next to McGonagall, and barely noticed her hand on his shoulder.

A few minutes later his sisters entered, they grabbed mum up in a big hug, and before long there were flooing to St Mungo's. The place was almost empty, so they got through reception in no time, they were taken to the first floor. The sign said it was the Dai Llewellyn Ward for Serious Bites. A chill ran through him, they rushed to a nearly empty ward, his mum found a witch who looked bored. She told them that dad was waiting in room 4, his mum was there in a second.

She stopped as soon as she turned the corner, Harry could see over her shoulder at what made her stop, and his breath caught. His dad lay in a bed with half of his body wrapped in bandages, and the other half covered in burns.

A group of mediwizards bustled around him, casting spells Harry didn't recognize, then he saw his dad move and say something. Then his mother broke out of her trance, the four of them entered the room fully.

His dad actually tried to laugh off his injuries, but clearly even doing that caused him pain. Healer Smethwick told them he had been bitten by a particularly angry dragon, Harry felt his jaw slacken, his dad looked sadly at his mum. The healer continued to say with time he should make a full recovery.

Harry let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding in, Jasmine looked just as relieved, Rosie sobbed lightly but smiled when he pulled her into a hug. His mum sat down next to his dad and looked for somewhere to touch him, but there was no place unburned.

"Yeah, kinda in a bad state." His dad said with a wink to his kids. "Sorry Lily." He gave her a sad smile, Harry felt like he was intruding.

"What the fuck were you doing in a dragon's mouth James?" His mum hissed, sounding a little like a dragon herself. His dad caught that same vibe, as he recoiled from her just a little.

"It's top secret, kids… hint hint." He said with a wink.

"What no! We deserve to know something dad." Jasmine said fiercely.

Harry and Roise protested too, but Jasmine was first and so took the brunt of their fathers miserable look.

"They deserve to know some of it James, better they hear it from you than some rumor." Mum said, James gave her a pleading look, but her glare quelled his protest.

"Fine, I've been teamed up with the department of magical games and sports, since school started, working with a group who are preserving dragons in Romania. Well last night something went wrong and I got in the way of the bugger."

"It's all very hush hush though, so don't spread it around. You weren't supposed to know anything about it, Bones will kill me if it gets out." He laughed and then winced heavily. Healer Smethwick rushed in and assisted him.

Harry and his family watched as the healer unwrapped the bandages on his right side and checked the wounds. There was more than one gasp from the Potters.

It didn't take long for the shock to wear off and they felt more horrified, it was one thing to hear your dad was a dragon's chew toy not too long ago, and another thing completely to see the mediwizards changing bandages and seeing large bite marks all over him. When he got out of hospital Harry knew his dad would be unbearable.

Healer Smethwick claimed bites damage was mostly healed, but he wanted to observe him for a while longer. His dad had already been in the hospital for over a week now, nothing had really changed except he said the pain was better.

He couldn't shake the image out of his head of his dad's wounds. If he had been a few inches taller or shorter he would be very very dead, Harry had never considered his dad might die, not anytime soon at least.

It certainly didn't make returning to Hogwarts any easier, and it completely drove all talk of the Chamber of Secrets out of his or his families mind. His mum hadn't mentioned it once, Harry knew they would have that talk when his dad was released from the hospital.

Harry, Rosie and Jasmine had been back to Hogwarts for the nights, since their mum stayed at the hospital. The kids would have to stay at Hogwarts over the Christmas break, which most of the school was not, due to the outbreak of petrification.

There was a tiny portion of the school population left at school, the only person he knew was Draco Malfoy, most of the others were older students. Harry was happy at least to be able to practice magic, it was usually the worst part of being away from the school. other than missing his friends.

He had sent letters to them, with some gifts, explaining why he had vanished at the end of the term. They had understood and expressed their thanks for their gifts. Harry enjoyed his Christmas even if his dad was wrapped up like a mummy, he thought he had seen Neville in St Mungo's at one point but hadn't been sure.

He had been spending a lot of time with Rosie over the break, Jasmine had spent a lot of time in the library, so he had been working on magic with his baby sister.

"You've got it, the movement and incantation is fine, all I can think is your determination. You need to _know_ you can cast the spell." Harry said one day, they were in an old classroom near the Gryffindor common room. Rosie had failed to cast a disarming charm a few times.

"But I can't cast it though." She pouted a little, she always did when things didn't go her way, he knew his dad couldn't resist that look for long.

"And I can't turn that table into a pig yet, but my magic doesn't know that." He waved his wand and spoke the incantation clearly, envisioning a pig clearly in his mind. Suddenly the table legs turned into pig legs and the table very clearly 'oinked.' He laughed at the absurd image.

Rosie giggled too, she even walked over to pet the table. "The legs still feel like wood." She said, which made Harry scowl, he didn't think it should have gone that bad.

"Conviction and confidence, those will take you further than memorizing wand movements." He demonstrated again with a disarming charm without moving his wand, the chair he had aimed out flew across the room.

"What if I'm not confident though?" She said, sounding very young. Harry blinked, Rosie had always been so full of energy and curiosity, this self doubt was a new thing.

"You will figure it out, today or next year, there's no rush. What I did was get into a few fights. Quick way to learn, if a bit messy." He said. She grinned at him, Harry almost felt sorry for her year mates.

Eventually she had started to get the hang of it, but it was just before the term started up, so Harry would make sure to check up on her progress. When the students came back to school, there were a few notable exceptions. At least twenty students did not return, Harry saw Dumbledore look over the empty seats with a mournful expression.

A few weeks went by without any incident, but it was ruined when two people were attacked on the same day. The Gryffindor ghost and a Ravenclaw prefect. Harry could tell that the mood of the school had shifted very quickly once more.

Within a day of the attacks, teachers walked the students to and from classes, if they weren't in class they were required to be in their common rooms or the great hall. Dumbledore was taking things very seriously.

Harry had seen the elderly wizard investing the places the students had been attacked in between classes. He felt much better knowing Dumbledore was doing what he could, he didn't doubt he had been active before. But seeing was much better.

He had to cancel the study groups, it wasn't worth the risk, and teachers were very strict on students caught wandering around.

A month after the last attack Malfoy had swaggered into the common room with his father in tow, Harry frowned and saw Daphne stiffen and put her book down. His eyes fell on Tracey, she had gotten up and wandered close to the two, she stopped next to Pansy Parkinson and just watched.

Lucius Malfoy had sought out Professor Snape, he loudly explained that Professor Dumbledore had been fired from his position, and that the heads of house were expected to step up into the responsibilities.

Harry's fists clenched hard, the fact that these flouncing blond idiots could actually do that upset him. They were using the commotion to get Dumbledore out of the way, who else could stop the attack.

Then Draco let slip, by accident Harry was _sure_, that Hagrid had been arrested. Off to Azkaban. Harry pitied the kind hearted giant, Azkaban was no place for someone like Hagrid.

Most of the house took turns congratulating the Malfoy's, Harry watched closely as Yaxley shook Lucius Malfoy's hand, they exchanged words for a little bit longer than necessary. Daphne bumped him, distracting him from the pair.

She shook her head at him. "Too blatant Harry, watch Tracey."

Tracey had taken a fawning posture next to Draco, close enough to both to hear what they said, but she didn't do anything. No one really noticed her, she kept out of the way and mixed in with the others well.

"How long have you two been doing this?" He whispered to Daphne.

"She learned it from her mother, she's a fantastic gossip, and my mother is very good at making use of it. We have learned from the best Harry. It wouldn't hurt for you to learn a little subtlety too." Her grin was charming, but Harry felt there was a dangerous edge to it.

Life at Hogwarts hadn't changed much with Dumbledore gone, although Harry was sure the teachers were even more on edge, they whispered together in passing and patrolled more frequently.

It was after a defense against the dark arts class, Gilderoy Lockhart was boasting about his prowess and skill as usual, that Harry saw Malfoy slip out from the line and duck into a corridor. He knew it was stupid, and foolish, but he followed. He stopped to tie his shoelaces and waved Daphne and Tracey on.

He poked his head around the corner, it was clear, so he walked down it and cast a whispered silencing charm on his feet. He crept down the hall regardless, and found himself in front of the corridor where the message about the Chamber had been written. A flash of red, and it hit him.

Jasmine breathed heavily under her dad's old invisibility cloak, McGonagall had just said Harry had been taken. Into the Chamber.

"I'll tell Lily and James myself, the school has to close, this has gone too far." She said, her voice was thick with anguish. Jasmine had always had an immense respect for McGonagall, but why wasn't she going to do anything. The teachers were all too afraid to do anything without Dumbledore.

Someone had to do something, her little brother wasn't going to be left for a basilisk to feast on. She had an idea where the entrance was, and if she went to a teacher they would stop her, so she had to just go. There was no other choice.

The bathroom was so simple, exactly the same as all the other girl's bathrooms in the school, the only thing different was this bathroom had witnessed a murder long ago. She pitied Myrtle, if things went well today at least Myrtle would have some peace.

It took far too long to find the clue she had been looking for, a small snake in the metal of a tap. It was no wonder how the Chamber had been kept secret for so long. She focused hard on the snake, feeling it with a finger. Trying to convince herself it was real and alive. "_Open."_

The entire sink system shifted and opened to reveal a large hole, there was little light to go by. Her lumos only gave enough light to see there was some kind of large pipe. She sighed and dropped down the hole.

A stench rocked her, she had to work hard to not vomit at the smell. The place she landed at was damp and cold, there were bones littered around the floor, her steps splashed water up at her. She held her breath as much as she could

Despite that she continued on, picking her way carefully through the mess. Before long she entered a small antichamber, she choked on a gasp as she caught sight of a large pale shape.

She shut her eyes and shuffled against the wall, when she felt wetness on her back she nearly cried out, but it was just dampness on the wall. She tried not to consider what made it so wet down here.

Her eyes fell on the shape once more, it hadn't moved. Jasmine stepped forward, she was careful to keep her eyes down, but she wouldn't hide. Not while her brother needed her.

As she got closer the snake was evidently just skin, it was almost transparent, the skin was still tough however. The size of the basilisk made her mouth go dry, but it was too late to turn back.

She made her way through as quietly as possible, until she came out into a vast hall.

On each side was large stone carvings of vicious looking snakes, each with such detail she could believe they had once been snakes. At the end was a massive statue of a man's head. Below that were two bodies.

She could make out the green in their school robes as she sprinted towards them. The messy hair of her brother was unmistakable, when grabbed him up as soon as she could, he was cold and wet but breathing. He didn't look hurt at all, he could have been sleeping.

The other person was the Malfoy brat, he looked paler than usual, but she didn't waste time worrying about him. She struggled to remember the counter to the stunning spell, she never paid much attention to the defensive side of things.

"Thank you for coming." A peaceful voice said, Jasmine spun while gripping Harry close to her. A tall boy stood leaning against the wall of the Chamber, he was slender and not unattractive, his smile was cold though.

"Who are you?" She asked, she was very sure he wasn't a student, despite his Hogwarts robes. He shifted slightly and she saw his body fade away and return slightly. Was he a ghost? Her wand was ready in her hand.

He chuckled, and walked towards them. His body wavered again, the effect almost made her sick, it was like he wasn't even a real person. "I am Tom Riddle." He paused. His eyes were focused hard on her face for a second, then his smile turned into a smirk.

He pulled a wand out from his robes, and began to play with it. Jasmine felt her mouth go dry, she couldn't be sure this Tom person was even physically there.

"You really ought to be thanking me, you know." His voice was so sweet it had to be mocking.

"Why's that?" She tried to pull Harry away from the boy slightly. His robes were damp and he was already tall enough that she could barely shift him.

"Young Draco wasn't interested in you at all, all he cares about is your brother there. If i hadn't… stepped in, who knows what you would have walked in on."

Jasmine watched Tom, she could tell he was having fun, she had seen enough of it from her dad and the Weasley twins. She had never seen it used this way though, maliciously.

"Draco has learned a great deal, he was worried he couldn't make his father proud if _Potter_ was in his way." He said, imitating Malfoy's petulant tone. "All because he didn't make it into my little club, well as a favour for his aid, I taught him what dear little Harry has been learning."

The smirk was taunting her, his face was handsome, but there was something vile lurking not far below the surface.

"What do you mean?" She spat. If she could keep this boy talking she could figure out a way to get Harry out of here, maybe Draco too.

"When I was in school here, I set up a little group. To uphold the noble tradition of Slytherin." He said mockingly. Jasmine glanced around Salazar Slytherin's hidden Chamber and felt some creeping dread. "Harry was chosen, poor Draco, which is quite the honor, I made very sure no one who wasn't full of potential was chosen."

"These special students learned some powerful spells from me. And in doing so became powerful in their own right. It is nice to know my legacy has survived."

"You're lying. You have no legacy." Jasmine said viciously.

"I would tell you to ask Harry about it, but even if he were awake he couldn't answer you." Tom smiled as though he were talking to someone a little bit simple.

"My brother would never learn anything like that, and not from someone like you."

"He has, trust me. I know what I'm talking about when it comes to the dark arts. Certain things leave a mark." A shiver ran down her spine.

"Who even are you?" She spat angrily.

"In my time at school, those I had specifically chosen would go on to become my Death Eaters."

Jasmine froze. Her wand seemed to ache to be used. Harry felt like a dead weight in her arms.

Tom Riddle smiled down at her.

"Tell me." His voice was commanding and full of anger. "How could _you_, a mere infant, best Lord Voldemort."

Panic. It welled up inside her. Dumbledore had always said Voldemort wasn't truly dead, she had been expecting it eventually. Not while she was in school though. Some strange shade of Voldemort stood in front of her, the school boy's threatening demeanor changed in her mind now.

"Clearly it was nothing more than dumb luck."

Jasmine's mind clicked into place, she remembered the counter spell. She whispered the cast, as Tom turned away. Harry slowly stirred. He tried to thrash out of her grip but their eyes met, and he calmed slightly.

Jasmine quickly got him on his feet, and began to pull him away, Harry fought off her grip however. He was staring right at Riddle, she felt her insides churn, then she heard what the boy was saying. He was calling out in parseltongue, by the sound of it he was summoning the basilisk.

The giant stone head of Salazar Slytherin opened, and a rushing sound broke their stillness.

Harry turned and tried to look everywhere at once, he could only assume he was in the Chamber of Secrets. Jasmine was trying to hex the boy speaking parseltongue, but as his stream of hisses continued Harry figured it hadn't done much. Jasmine spun, and darted off towards a tunnel beside a large stone snake, she waved for him to follow.

A loud thump helped his feet find some urgency.

Jasmine hissed as he ran past her. "How can we face a basilisk?" Harry stopped dead, he had thought they were in danger…. This was worse than just danger. "Got any plans?" she asked.

"Erm no."

Basilisk's were legendary, what with their killing gaze, unstoppable poison, nearly immortal lifespan. Harry somehow assumed his glasses were not up to the task of keeping him alive.

"First thing is getting its eyes out of the way." Harry said, Jasmine crouched next to him, they were both straining their ears for all their worth. "Can you conjure metal?" Jasmine nodded.

"Try and conjure some and banish it towards the basilisk, I'll blow it up… hopefully. Though we will need to split up a little bit." He said, these tunnels seemed to cover a great distance.

"What about Malfoy?" Jasmine asked.

"I'm not willing to risk either of us for him. We do what we can to survive, right?"

Jasmine reluctantly nodded, Harry cast a silencing charm on his feet and took off, following the curve of the pipes. It seemed like they wrapped around the main chamber many many times.

The basilisk wasn't very fast, but he wouldn't rely on that, they had a reputation for a very good reason. He could hear its hiss approaching where he had left Jasmine, he almost turned back. He had to trust that she wouldn't sit still waiting to die, his sister was far from stupid.

He found the end of the tunnel, it opened up to the main chamber as he had expected. He had to risk a look, see where the basilisk was exactly, and find Jasmine. He kept his eyes low, betting the basilisk wouldn't be at ground level, there was nothing to see. It had to be in one of the tunnels.

Jasmine was nowhere to be seen, although he could hardly see much, Malfoy was lying near the strange boy Harry couldn't make out if he were breathing. He quickly cast around for a glance of Jasmine. He had to move, he didn't want to risk being snuck up on.

A Deafening splash beat at him, the basilisk erupted from a pool of water near the large statue. He heard the great beast sniff the air, he knew no way of masking his scent, but at least he knew where he couldn't look.

A glint of silver flew towards the giant snake, Harry didn't have a chance to think about it, he aimed and fired his exploding charm. A second later a screech filled the chamber, Harry had no idea if his plan had worked but he could tell it hurt the serpent.

Now that he had a second to think, he had no idea how he could check if its eyes were functioning. They needed to do something big, he doubted the scales of an ancient basilisk were vulnerable to much magic. He needed to find Jasmine again.

The serpent flowed towards him, the sound of its weight against the dusty chamber was telling enough. An idea hit him though, he cast a sonorous spell behind him, it must have worked, because the snake's idle hissing was suddenly audible. That should help Jasmine keep away from it too.

Harry ran silently, he knew it didn't matter if he could be heard, it could smell him now. The hissing kept up easily with his run, Harry had to do something quickly before he ran out of time. He found himself running up a steep incline, he doubted the Basilisk would be perturbed by it.

Quite the opposite, it seemed to be getting faster.

The further he ran the darker it got, he almost missed a bend in the path twice, he was starting to get tired. He panted, the path had leveled out into a flat area, there was almost no light however. He ran, after a few steps he ran head first into a wall. his face broke out in agony.

Blood ran down his face. He looked around and the only light he could see was downward.

The hissing grew urgent.

He didn't bother to check, he dove down the gap, and found himself falling into the main chamber. Into the water.

The Basilisk was so close behind him the splash nearly flung him into the stone face. Harry shut his eyes and gasped for breath. Hissing drowned out all noise. The basilisk was very close.

A whooshing sound, then another screech. This time the screech was deafening due to the sonorous charm. Harry clamped his hands over his ears, he had to move however.

His eyes fell on the basilisk, it writhed around not ten feet from him. He ran away, he managed to see a stone snake head flying through the air at the basilisk. He saw Jasmine in the middle of the chamber, completely in the open. He heard another screech and stone shattering.

The basilisk was being smashed by those giant snake heads. Jasmine had the serpent vulnerable, Harry knew this was his only chance. The curse that popped into his head wasn't a pleasant one, it was almost certainly frowned upon.

He had to hurt this beast though, kill if possible, he had to use a powerful spell to manage that. He cast the tearing curse at the tail end of the basilisk, he put everything he could into the spell. It was his first time casting it, he had no idea how potent it was.

Blood fountained up from the tail, Harry saw bone jutting out from the mess of its rear end. The basilisk didn't screech this time, it twitched a few times. Then it stopped.

Harry rushed to his sister, she looked terrified but relieved, Harry could sympathise there. He reached her and found himself laughing in delight, they had survived, they had actually bested a basilisk. His mind was delirious between the fall, the blood loss, and his system pumping full of adrenaline.

The boy who had controlled the basilisk yelled, Harry saw Jasmine approach him.

"You're too late, you would have been better off letting the basilisk kill you." He said nastily. "When I'm done with you, you'll be begging for death."

Harry was expecting him to cast a spell or do something. But the boy just watched them, and shifted his eyes to Malfoy. The boy had a strange spectral look to him, almost as if he were a ghost.

"You've failed again Voldemort." Jasmine said. Harry knew his eyes bulged, he couldn't help it.

"Failed? You have no idea what I have achieved." The boy said with no little rage in his voice.

Jasmine walked to Malfoy, Harry watched as she cast the reviving spell on him. When it failed Voldemort laughed, Harry felt his knees shake.

"It is too late to save him, his life is mine." The sneer took in both Jasmine and Malfoy, Harry watched, this teenage Voldemort was growing more and more solid with every second. Jasmine noticed it too, as she suddenly started rummaging through Malfoy's robes. Until she pulled a plain looking leather bound book out, Harry noticed Vodemort's eyes twitch when she pulled it out.

Jasmine cast spell after spell at the book, but nothing happened.

"Perhaps you might ask your brother for help. After all you saw what his curse did to the basilisk." He offered mockingly.

"Shut up." Jasmine hissed between spells.

"Maybe you could ask him where he learned it." He continued. "Oh yes, that's right, me."

Harry had an idea, there was something here that could destroy anything. Basilisk venom, the most potent venom known to man. And there was a basilisk…

"Very impressive for one so young, he could have a gift for the dark arts."

Harry sent a summoning charm for a basilisk fang. Perhaps it being dead would allow a simple spell to work on it.

"Or maybe it's a gift for killing. Again, I know a lot about both." Voldemort said.

Harry watched as the fang flew through the boy's head, he rushed to catch it, and slammed it into the book. A whining sound like metal being torn burst from the wound. The teenage Voldemort erupted and broke away like glass.

Harry collapsed and tried to forget everything he had just heard. Jasmine flung herself at him, her breathing was ragged and strained. Neither moved for a long time.

A cough from Malfoy made them stir, Harry was hardly happy to see the boy moving, but he didn't deserve to die.

No one talked much as they made their way out of the Chamber. Harry had seen Malfoy gaping at the basilisk corpse, Harry couldn't blame him.

Harry's mind raced, the teenage Voldemort had to have been the heir. Possessing Malfoy and attacking students, and he had said Harry had used one of his spells. Which would mean that he had been…

Jasmine had led them to the Headmasters office, Harry hadn't noticed how far they had traveled, lost in his own thoughts. A gargoyle shifted as they approached, and the door opened of its accord.

The room was full of people. Harry saw a man with his own messy hair, and a woman with flaming red hair. Before he could do anything he was engulfed in a hug. His mum was crying as she patted him, she seemed to be making sure he was there while not letting go.

His dad slowly stood, he was still recovering, but he made his way over and grabbed Jasmine. Rosie's small shape sat next to McGonagall crying in joy, and no doubt in fear a few seconds earlier.

Albus Dumbledore sat at the desk in the center of the room, watching with obvious joy. Harry had just given Rosie a kiss when Dumbledore spoke, the whole room got quiet.

"Harry, Draco… I am delighted to see you safe once more, Jasmine thank you for what you have done." He waved his wand and three chairs appeared. "Please sit, i would very much like to hear what happened today."

"As would I." Harry turned to see Lucius Malfoy sweeping into the room, he rested a hand on Draco's shoulder and gave him a tight smile.

Harry heard his dad mutter a few very suggestive things. He caught him glaring daggers at Lucius Malfoy, his mum put a hand on his leg and gave him a look. Harry would have to ask about that.

"Please, whoever wishes to start." Dumbledore said patiently.

Jasmine took the lead, she mentioned how she had learned about the basilisk, and came to save Harry. When Harry heard that she knew the basilisk was there and she still came to save him he felt a huge rush of respect and gratitude for his sister.

When Jasmine mentioned that the boy had identified himself as Voldemort every adult in the room gasped. Harry saw his parents' shock evident on their face, Dumbledore looked merely hurt.

Harry took over for the fight with the basilisk, making it seem a lot less exciting as he could have. When he mentioned the book, Dumbledore asked to see it immediately. Harry felt Malfoy senior stiffen when Jasmine placed it on the desk, as if he had seen it before.

"I take it, this is where you come into matters Draco?" Dumbledore asked.

Draco nodded. "I wanted to become stronger, I never knew all this would happen."

"Older and wiser wizards have been controlled by Lord Voldemort, Mr Malfoy." For a second Dumbledore's eyes flicked to the elder Malfoy. Harry smiled at the almost joke, he caught Jasmine grin too. "Do not blame yourself, if anything, I should have known better. Forgive me Draco, I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

Malfoy nodded, clearly confused yet relieved.

Much later Harry and his family were alone, tears had been spilled and laughs shared. Harry figured his mum was on the edge of a breakdown, clearly thinking she had lost three members of her family in a few short months.

The news that Voldemort had been behind these events had rocked his family, it had been coming his dad had said, but they clearly were afraid. Jasmine was the least concerned of them all, she had faced the teenage Voldemort down and beaten him after all.

Harry had heard what Voldemort had said about him though, and those words scared him more than the knowledge that he wasn't quite as gone as hoped. He was also very aware of the fact that Jasmine had both heard those same words, and had chosen not to share them.

He had no idea if it was a good thing or not, at least if she said something now he would know it. Better than waiting, after all he wasn't going to offer that information up.

School returned to normal, except for the lack of exams, and the universal relief of students and teachers. Well his friends tried to treat him like a damn pygmy puff for a few days after all that had happened in the Chamber.

But things were good.

AN: This was one of the parts that made me really want to start writing this Fic. I really hope the Riddle bits live up to what I had imagined a year ago. Things will start getting darker from here on out, which is fun. And the pace should slow back down a little, as next school year lots will be happening.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope this one is as exciting for you to read as it was for me to write.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Hey Harry, Prongs mentioned you were wanting to talk." Sirius said as he sauntered into Harry's bedroom. Harry neatly tucked the letter he had been reading away, it wasn't worth thinking about right now anyway.

"Yeah, thanks uncle Sirius." Harry gestured to his bed, which wasn't exactly neatly made, but his uncle wouldn't mind. Once uncle Sirius sat down, he strode across his room and pulled the door shut.

His uncle had adopted a foolish look of concern, as he made a show of gripping his wand. Harry didn't laugh but he did grin, whatever his uncle's flaws he had a talent for lightening the mood.

"Look, this isn't easy," Harry said, he tried to find the right way to put it, he needed a serious answer. This was always going to be a risk, he had known that when he had asked his dad to make sure uncle Sirius came for a talk. But if anyone could sympathize with him, it was uncle Sirius.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind he considered backing out. Uncle Sirius was a lot of things, mature was not on that list. His mum claimed that Sirius was still the same person as he was in Hogwarts.

It wasn't too late, Jasmine hadn't said anything yet, he would have heard if she had. Dark magic was one of those subjects, Harry knew something would come out eventually, wanting a little control over that wasn't so bad right?

Sirius chuckled. "I can see that, stop pacing Harry, you'll wear a hole on the floor. You know your mum will blame me for that too right." Harry hadn't been pacing, just shifting his weight around a little.

Harry frowned, he walked over to Sirius, well he had come this far it shouldn't hurt too much to actually talk about it. Could it?

"Is dark magic really a thing?" Harry wished he could have the question back. He had planned it out in his head hundreds of times, none of those times had he sounded so guilty or resigned. "I mean, is there actual evil magic?"

Uncle Sirius watched him carefully. A sad smile crossed his lips, he took Harry's hand in his own. "No Harry, I don't think so."

He must have sensed something in Harry's reaction because he instantly tensed and held on to him harder. Harry saw his face become sterner, more serious.

"I say that because I don't believe magic is evil. However, I have seen some magic that can only be called evil." Uncle Sirius said carefully.

"Well, the unforgivables are…"

"No Harry, not the unforgivables. You know of my 'family's' history, trust me, there is some vile stuff out there." He said while looking closely at Harry. "So I don't think there is anything out there that changes you or corrupts you, but there is an allure to the dark arts."

"How do you mean? Like some kind of compulsion?" Harry asked quickly. The conversation was going much, much, better than he had expected. And a chance to actually talk about something more than simple schoolbook magic was exciting.

"Haha, nothing like that. Thank merlin, no." His usual warm rich laugh was missing, this was cold and sardonic. Not what Harry was used to when talking to his uncle.

"It was the main reason I chose not to become an Auror, honestly. There is a risk in that job, and you need so much self-control. Personally, I didn't have it, I knew too much nasty stuff, I ended up relying on it."

Harry nodded slowly. He had feared something similar, to hear it from someone as talented and accomplished as his uncle gave him thought.

"Well, you shouldn't repeat what we are talking about. well, you know that." He tried to laugh, but it didn't sound convincing to Harry. "Well, when you think you'll die if you don't win your duel, you find out who you really are Harry."

"Let's just say your dad is a much better man than I."

Harry felt the urge to comfort his uncle, something had happened. But uncle Sirius never needed comfort. He was so solid and cheerful.

"But everyone agrees, I'm much more handsome." He said with his barked laugh. Harry swallowed, he must have been overthinking things. "I take it you're asking because you worried about learning something really dangerous?"

"Kind of, I can't explain it. Not really."

"Slytherin things?" Sirius asked. When Harry gave a relieved nod, he laughed. "You bloody Slytherins and your rules, well tell me what you can." He finished warmly. His smile was back on his face.

Harry told him as much as he could before that block fell on his words. From using the spell on the basilisk, and what he felt about some of the spells potentials.

Sirius was quiet for a long moment. "Harry, just be very careful, you've clearly considered this. But caution will go a long way." Harry frowned.

"You're clearly intrigued. Merlin knows we all knew you would be the bookworm, but Harry…" Sirius looked around as if trying to find the right words on his wall or something.

"McGonagall says you're more than good at transfiguration, but I've never heard you talk about that the way you just did about those curses." Harry tried to take a step back, but Sirius gripped his shoulder gently but firm.

"My brother… when he was your age, he dove headfirst into the dark arts. By the time he thought about what he was doing, he was in too deep, let's just say Voldemort doesn't appreciate people gaining a conscience."

"So that fact that you're using your brain gives me huge relief Harry. But I can't shake that fear." Sirius said.

Harry nodded. He didn't want to think about what the implications were, he had dwelled on them a lot himself. especially since hearing that Tom Riddle called himself Lord Voldemort or the Heir of Slytherin.

He still hadn't told Daphne that little fact yet, he had no idea how to bring it up. She would want to know, but could he do that to her.

"You're not going to tell mum and dad about this are you?" His greatest fear. His parents were amazing, they loved him endlessly, but he didn't want to test anything. After all his dad was an Auror.

"Of course not Harry. I'm not up for dying. Just promise me you won't keep it all inside." Sirius said. Harry was quick to assure him he would be open with him, uncle Sirius seemed reassured.

Sirius stood and made for the door, he gave Harry a sad smile. Harry felt a pang of shame, it took a lot to make Sirius less than his usual chipper self.

"There's one more thing." He said. His uncle looked resigned to torment. "What does it mean if a girl says she doesn't want to date you?" If Sirius' laugh wasn't heard a few streets over Harry would have been shocked.

"It means you move on to the next one, you've got a few lined up right?" He said conspiratorially.

"No, it's more like…" Harry's face burned, the things he did to make his uncle happy. "So Hannah and Susan, they like kissing, a lot actually." He really couldn't help the grin that broke out. He had really tried.

Sirius barked out his laugh and clapped him on the arm. "That's my godson."

"Well yeah. So Hannah doesn't want to date me, because she thinks Susan would want to, right?"

Sirius nodded along, his grin getting wider and wider.

"And Susan doesn't want to date me because Hannah wants to… But they have both known about each other the whole time, it was their idea really."

Sirius shook his head. "Harry, you've won the jackpot. They didn't say anything was off right?" When Harry shook his head Sirius nodded eagerly. "See, you get the best of both worlds. All the fun of a relationship and none of the chains."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "How's Gwenog?"

Sirius laughed but shook his head. "She's fine, but I'm getting older now, it's time to settle down and all that boring stuff. You're young, enjoy it while you can."

Harry still couldn't shake the heat in his face. Somehow he didn't think they would be too happy if he started kissing Tracey or Daphne. Actually, between those pairs of girls, he would be lucky to survive such a situation.

"Now that I do have to share with your dad." And Sirius took off running.

Harry felt cold, deadly cold. Fear so deep that he almost forgot to chase after his uncle. Teasing between his family could get brutal, and he had very very little ammunition on them.

He slammed into uncle Sirius' back as he turned into the kitchen. They stumbled a bit and he helped steady Harry, when he had gotten his feet under him he saw what had caused his uncle to freeze.

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Bloody Dumbledore was sitting in his kitchen idly sipping on a cup of apple juice. Jasmine sat opposite him, she was holding a book with a white-knuckled grip. His parents looked on, but their attention had shifted.

They had just barged into something he really didn't think he was meant to see. It wasn't common for the headmaster of Hogwarts and internationally acclaimed wizard to make house calls after all.

"Sorry for interrupting Professor." Harry and Sirius said in unison.

Dumbledore laughed, his eyes danced merrily as he looked at them.

"Mr Potter, as this is your family house, you never need to apologize for entering the kitchen. Sirius, it is very good to see you, and in such good spirits too."

He calmly stood and wiped his hands on his yellow and green striped robes. Somehow Dumbledore commanded the entire room without doing anything, almost as if his presence alone was enough to quell the four, rather large personalities, in the room.

"Jasmine, I urge you to take this as seriously as any other form of magic. In time you shall understand. James, Lily, I must thank you again for your hospitality." He picked out a handful of Floo powder, threw it in the subdued fire. He called out for his office in Hogwarts.

Before he stepped in, he nimbly turned on a heeled boot. "I almost forgot, how foolish of me." He cast Harry a small secretive smile. He laid a piece of paper on the table, and then waved and walked into the, now green, flames.

"The Potter household has been taken off of the ministry's underage magic surveillance list, as per Albus Dumbledore's personal request." Jasmine read aloud.

His parents groaned, loudly. Jasmine and Harry grinned at each other.

"Harry has been kissing two girls at once." Sirius said importantly into the excited room. Harry had left his wand in his bedroom, after all, he had no reason to try and use it. So Sirius walked away that afternoon.

The next few days were exhausting. His family had been as unbearable as expected, Jasmine was worse than anyone. If ever he blushed at all he was barraged with questions about Susan and Hannah, the worst was when Rosie had tried to seriously say she liked Susan and thought she was kind.

His family was pretty special in their own way, but they acted like a bunch of banshees as soon as Harry got the slightest bit embarrassed. It wasn't even as if Susan wasn't kind and sweet, but saying that hadn't made things better then either.

He had managed to work out some frustration with spell work. As they were allowed to perform magic, his parents had jumped at the chance to educate.

His dad had been shifted to office work while he was fully recovering from his accident, as such, he had his own frustration to work through. Harry and his dad had practice dueled many times over the next few weeks, nothing serious, but Harry had learned a lot of new strategies.

They had been unfortunately strict on not allowing any friends over, between the ability to use magic and the general security they liked to keep, there were no guests.

Harry had been sending letters back and forth to all of his friends, he had been trying to play up how boring his summer was without them all. It wasn't a lie exactly.

It had turned out his mother was fantastic at charm work, the spells in-class required so much precision that Harry often ignored them outside of class. His mum had shaken that idea though, with her instruction he had managed to learn a few certain shortcuts.

He really wanted to get the hang of wordless casting as she could, apparently, it was a bit too advanced, that didn't give him any pause though. He had seen Jasmine working on it too.

Their mum had encouraged them to help tutor Rosie with some of the basics, Harry had enjoyed trying to test the limits of what he could do with as little focus as possible. The only branch of magic he didn't try that with was transfiguration though, he did not need the warning from his dad for that.

It hadn't taken very long before he had cast wordlessly his first time, just a simple charm, but the effects were obvious. He had cast a charm without telling the world what he was about to do. One thing his mum had impressed upon him was how instant charms were, there was no visible spell involved.

If he could learn some good charms he would be able to have an edge, but that also meant some other people would use them this way. There had to be some way to tell when someone was casting wordlessly, after all holding your wand wasn't exactly uncommon.

There was so much he could learn, so many possibilities. And none of them had any darker implications, just simple advanced magical theory.

Jasmine had been spending a lot of time pouring over that book, Dumbledore had given it to her, but he hadn't learned anything else. She still spent a good amount of time with them, but it was bothering him not knowing what special branch of magic Dumbledore wanted her to learn.

He could imagine it was some form of battle magic, after all, Jasmine had confronted a form of Voldemort again. He could tell his parents were bothered by that little fact, it brought back far too many fears and hurts for it not to show.

Dumbledore was an exceptionally gifted wizard, so it followed that his parents might seek help from him. But why Jasmine? That Voldemort had wanted her was obvious, and Dumbledore was providing some aid too. But why her?

Harry didn't like being in the dark so much, he knew why his parents didn't explain it all though, it wasn't his job to worry about Jasmine. It didn't stop him from being worried though, after all, Tom Riddle had been obsessed with her. To the point that when he had spoken of Harry it was to mock and taunt Jasmine.

Harry tried to cast those thoughts out, it didn't help anything, and his sister needed better than that. Really they all needed unity, Sirius had been sure to come around more often and he had made sure Harry understood that they were all there for him.

The summer holiday rushed past him, it was almost all a blur of magic, but he had enjoyed it.

He lifted his trunk onto the platform of the Hogwarts Express, It had been such a long time since he had seen his friends, he almost forgot to say goodbye to his parents. He didn't need his mum's grip on his arm to remind him of that.

He found Tracey and Daphne sitting in a compartment with a younger girl, perhaps a first year. He knocked and waited politely for them to invite him in, all he got was two confused looks and a childish squeal.

So he stowed his trunk in the overhead and tried to avoid the tiny little blonde girl trying to get a look at him.

"Astoria stop that." Daphne hissed.

"I just want to see what the big deal is." Astoria's voice was excited and girlish, very unlike Daphne's, and Harry was sure this was the famously annoying sister he had heard a good deal about.

Harry turned back around and nearly bumped into Astoria, she was craning on tiptoes to get a look at him. Tracey brushed past her and gave Harry a hug, which he gladly accepted, then Daphne gave him a hug.

"He's not that cute, the way you two were talking I was exp…"

Daphne had quickly cast a silencing charm at her little sister, Harry blinked, there was a look on Daphne's face. Anger, embarrassment, fury… not a good combination. Still, he had to hear this. He cast a wordless 'finite' on Astoria.

"But I guess his eyes are quite pretty." Astoria seemed surprised she had her voice back, and she ran with it. Daphne looked confused and worried. "Tracey was right about those I guess. Harry, turn around so I can see your butt, they…"

This time Daphne and Tracey were covering Astoria's mouth with their hands, before Harry could do anything they had bundled her out of the compartment and slammed it shut in her face.

Astoria didn't look too upset, she gave him a grin and ran off. Harry settled back into his seat feeling a smirk rising on his face.

"I missed you two too." He said casually. He enjoyed Tracey's embarrassed grin and Daphne's mortified scowl, he really had missed them.

"Shut up you idiot." Tracey said playfully. She had been growing into her looks a lot more recently, her dark hair and eyes contrasted Daphne's very nicely. Harry had no doubt that Tracey really was one of the prettiest girls at school, though maybe he was a bit biased as a friend.

Daphne, on the other hand, was more beautiful rather than pretty. She had very delicate features and flawless skin, not to mention her immaculate blonde hair, she looked like a doll or a painting.

"Are you done ogling us?" Daphne said coldly.

Harry gave a smirk, and a very slow glance over the both once more. "Just making sure I'm not the only one being objectified."

"My sister is an annoying brat, you shouldn't listen to anything she says."

Harry laughed, but he could see Daphne had regained most of her composure.

"What about you Tracey? Do you think Astoria is a liar?" He asked.

"I wouldn't go that far. You do have a nice butt." Tracey said while letting her eyes wander over him.

Harry cackled as did Tracey. He heard Daphne mutter something rude, which usually meant she was in a decent mood. Harry could feel a different energy in the compartment, maybe he was just making it up, but there was a feeling reminiscent of how his Hufflepuff's were.

Tracey was being a lot more free and girlish, and Daphne wasn't holding herself back from teasing. He had caught their looks between each other in the past but assumed nothing about them, but now he thought maybe they were the same as the ones Hannah and Susan shared.

And apparently, they had been talking about him, enough that Daphne's sister was excited to "see what the big deal was." Harry couldn't wipe the smirk off his face.

It hadn't taken long after the train set off for Yaxley to summon them. He got changed in the corridor as usual, and then Harry and Daphne made their way down to the compartment, when they arrived they were the first there other than Yaxley and Pucey. Harry noticed the Head Girl badge on Alice's robes, Daphne instantly congratulated her.

Yaxley's lack of badge was evident, Harry felt Yaxley's eyes on him. He slid in next to him while Daphne sat next to Pucey.

"This year things will be different, I'm looking for you two to step up and take control of the new recruits and Gladwell and Sivvers. So learn from this year, no one else is very capable." Yaxley said calmly. Harry glanced at Daphne, she looked serious and nodded solemnly.

A pair of sixth years swept into the compartment, frowning at Harry and Daphne. When the boy sat next to Harry, he could feel the intense suspicion rolling off him. Harry hadn't spent much time with the members of the group, for good reason, but he got the feeling he would have to watch his back.

Yaxley seemed to want to make things difficult for him, for whatever reason it might be, Harry could only think of like fifty. A harder year would inevitably lead to worse spells being learned, he just wished he didn't like learning them.

After a short wait, the compartment was filled, Gladwell and Sivvers were sat next to the second years, seemingly the hierarchy was set. Harry could tell by their faces they knew it too.

Yaxley set about explaining what would be different this year, surprisingly he wanted to keep the feeling of unity in the house. He stressed the need for Slytherin to keep together, especially after the whole debacle with the Chamber.

Harry nodded, the way that fear had broken the houses last year was horrible to him, he had made sure to have friends in more than Slytherin house after all. He hadn't actually considered how the aftermath of last year might affect the school's view of Slytherin house.

The rest of the meeting was much of the same, a lot of self-interested boasting basically. Harry was amazed that they could all fit in the compartment with how large some of their egos were.

As they were walking back to their own compartment later, Harry noticed an empty compartment, he pulled Daphne inside. He almost laughed at the look on her face, but she was subtly reaching for her wand.

"Daphne, I've got something to tell you… it's not easy." He said. He gestured toward the seat, and Daphne promptly sat down.

"Well, in the chamber last year, I said it was Voldemort when he was in school right?" Daphne had winced as he said the dreaded name, but she nodded all the same. "Well I was talking to Jasmine, she said he also referred to himself as "The Heir of Slytherin."

It took Daphne a second before her face crumpled. She placed her face in her hands and sat there still for a long minute. Harry reached out and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, she didn't shake it off instantly.

"So you mean we have been learning spells from You-Know-Who?" She said carefully. Harry nodded, he wished she didn't look afraid. But he had the whole summer to come to terms with this. He could have written to her, but he had needed someone, so he wouldn't do that to her.

It didn't take long for Daphne to regain her composure, she stood up and wiped her face on her robes, it seemed like a few tears had broken free. She had ruined her makeup a little bit, Harry didn't laugh, no matter how many times Daphne accused him of it.

When they got back to their compartment Tracey was chatting with Astoria. Daphne quickly went to her trunk and began rummaging through it looking for something.

"You know, if you made my sister cry I will have to hurt you right?" Astoria said while flicking her wand around menacingly.

"Shut up Astoria." Daphne said while brushing her cheeks with a powdered brush, Tracey was holding a small mirror for her.

"So what were you two up to, Tracey wouldn't tell me? You didn't run off to go kiss did you?" Isn't that all you ever do Harry?" Astoria said while prodding Harry. When his cheeks flared up she took that as affirmative, nothing he said could stop her from thinking otherwise.

Daphne had been amused, up until Astoria asked to see them kiss. Then she was once again unceremoniously sent from their compartment, Harry assumed there would be a lot more of that this year.

Hannah and Susan had found their way to the compartment, Harry noticed the hugs the two Hufflepuff's exchanged with the Slytherin girls were a little bit less friendly than before. Harry didn't pay it too much attention, it might take a while until things were back to normal with the houses.

Susan was really excited about something her aunt had hinted at, she refused to say any more, whatever it was, had her daydreaming. He didn't bother thinking about what it could be, Hogwarts always had a surprise up its sleeve.

The train eventually came to a stop, and they rushed to get to the Great Hall. The opening feast was always a serious highlight of the year, there usually wasn't any imminent danger and there was nice food. A rare occasion for Hogwarts.

Daphne cheered when Astoria was sorted into Slytherin, Tracey banged on the table some, the rest of the house was somewhat more subdued.

When the last student was finished being sorted Albus Dumbledore stood where the sorting hat had been.

"Welcome everyone, to another year at Hogwarts. Before we start our marvelous feast I must make a few announcements. Firstly, as Professor Lockhart has decided not to return, we must welcome his replacement."

A side door to the great hall banged open, Harry heard the wooden stump of a leg before he saw it. Legendary Auror Mad-Eye Moody walked in, Harry could see his magical eye bouncing around wildly.

He turned to talk to Daphne and Tracey, but in turning he saw the looks on the faces of his housemates. A good third of them were scowling at the gnarled old man, Harry suddenly realized just how many people Moody had been essential in arresting.

He decided to keep his awe and respect for the hobbling legend to himself, after all, he didn't need anyone cursing him.

"My old friend Alastor Moody, has graciously accepted the role of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor." Dumbledore paused for applause, but there was little. Moody didn't seem to mind, he just walked over to Dumbledore and shook his hand.

When Moody sat next to Professor McGonagall, Dumbledore opened his arms as wide as they could go.

"For the first time in a very long time, Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament." Instantly noise erupted, students all over the hall were chatting excitedly. Dumbledore allowed them a minute of chatter, then his loud clap returned their attention to him.

"As most of you no doubt are aware, the reputation of this tournament is legendary, so to keep the safety of the students secure no student under seventeen will be allowed to enter."

With that food appeared on the table, Harry watched Dumbledore as he walked back to the head of the table, he was laughing at the outrage of the school.

Harry didn't care at all, history was usually made at a Triwizard tournament. The endless food didn't hurt much either. It felt like no time at all had passed but Harry was soon so full his stomach hurt.

Walking to the dungeon common room was always unpleasant when you were warm, full, and happy. Harry ended up staying up late with Daphne and Tracey talking all about the tournament and Moody.

Luckily neither of them had negative feelings towards the Auror, he hadn't expected them to have, but it was still nice to know.

When he settled into bed he relished in the feeling of familiar warmth of his bed at Hogwarts. It was his home away from home, and it felt good to be back.

When he got up the next morning he was greeted by an excited buzz in the common room. Small clusters of students were bunched up, chatting away before heading off to breakfast.

Harry waited for Tracey and Daphne, they headed to the great hall together. They were among the first to arrive, before too long the hall filled. Harry was eating a slice of bacon when the owls flew in.

Not the usual dozen or so, a few hundred flew in. Almost enough for one for everyone, Harry noticed his family owl darting to the Gryffindor table. Daphne hissed as she read what she had received. Harry could see it was the Daily Prophet.

He looked around the hall, and nearly everyone was reading a copy of the newspaper, even the teachers were reading it. Harry was not imagining the looks of horror on their faces.

Speedy the owl finally bobbed in front of him, Harry hurriedly grabbed a rolled-up newspaper, and let speedy eat from his plate. The entire front page was covered in a picture. The large triangular prison of Azkaban.

The headline read "10 Maximum security prisoners escape Azkaban." Harry knew his eyes were wild and bulging. The next page listed off the escapees, Harry read a list of the worst Death Eaters the war had known.

The three Lestange's were among the worst of them all, that was saying a lot considering the list was made up of murderers and torturers.

He could tell already that this was no coincidence, this was planned, which meant nothing good for anyone in the wizarding world. For the Potter's least of all.

He saw Jasmine talking to the Weasley twins, she shook her head and laughed, Harry could see she was nervous though. He knew what she must be thinking, he was thinking it too. With ten loyal Death Eaters, Voldemort would find a way to return soon.

With the events of their last year still fresh in his mind Harry had no desire to endure another second with Voldemort. Then Harry had a thought about his housemates, they might not share that sentiment.

He tried not to look too obviously, just a glance out the corner of his eye. He could see people in his house talking excitedly, most of the hall was doing that. He tried not to get carried away, big news did this, but they didn't need to look so happy.

Some of these people had just got family back, even if they were wanted fugitives. Harry met Daphne's eyes, he could see the concern in her expression, if she was that obvious in the great hall he must look like a right fool.

He tried really hard to calm down, all he could manage was an outer calm by gripping his cutlery a little bit too tight and clenching his jaw. Daphne laughed at his expression and Tracey muttered something about him having a nice jawline. Harry couldn't bring himself to smile.

His school life had just gotten a lot more complicated. He tried very hard not to, but he started to make a list of students who were related to these people, no matter how loosely. Harry started with Yaxley who's uncle had escaped.

Malfoy had an aunt and uncle, Crabbe and Goyle had their fathers… his list was very quickly getting out of hand. He could list at least five people who actively didn't like him who were related to these foul humans.

He would have to be careful, this would stir some boldness in the fools. Jasmine and Rosie would have to be careful too, perhaps he could get Hermione to watch out for Rosie, Neville too.

Neville… Harry suddenly remembered about Neville, he would be distraught by this news. Rightly so too, he would have to get a chance to talk with him soon. Starting up the study group as soon as possible was starting to sound really good.

AN: So as per usual, Thank you so much for reading. Loved hearing from Slytherin Potter and Urgazhi, I'm delighted you're enjoying it.

So I jumped ahead a little and brought the Triwizard Tournament forward a year from canon, mainly because this is a really nice stressful situation for Harry. And that's what we all want right.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Harry endured a long grim staring session with professor Snape, he had been unimpressed with Harry's choices of Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. Well, he was usually unimpressed with Harry, to be honest, but that was mostly due to his surname he was sure.

Daphne had opted into Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, which hadn't surprised Harry at all. Their first classes of the year were their new electives, Harry and Tracey would have Care of Magical Creatures first, so they left an almost forlorn Daphne alone in the entrance hall.

Tracey looped her arm with his as they walked, she gave him a small smile and blamed the uneven ground. Harry didn't mind, after all, a pretty witch on his arm was nothing to complain about. Harry noticed some not so casual looks he received as they drew closer to the edge of the forest where their class would take place.

They shared this class with Gryffindor judging by Hermione and Neville looking interestedly at himself and Tracey, he gave them a grin and stopped in front of them. Tracey decided not to move her arm, which made Harry grin even broader, it wasn't as if he was dating Hannah or Susan there was no reason not to enjoy himself a little.

The thought still tried to linger in his mind though, as if he was betraying something.

Hermione immediately engulfed them in questions, ranging from the Triwizard tournament to their holidays. Harry was amused to hear Tracey saying she had spent a lot of time at Daphne's house over the summer. Perhaps Astoria wasn't making much up at all.

After all, Tracey would never have been so touchy with him last year, well Harry wouldn't either but he hadn't been as active in his pursuit of girls. They were happy enough to let him know their boundaries, and he was happy enough to enjoy them.

He would have to check his morning juice for felix felicis if Tracey started kissing him, Daphne too.

"Harry… Harry!" Tracey said while squeezing his arm.

"Huh? What? Sorry." he said elegantly.

"Daydreaming eh… keep it up and you'll make me blush Mr. Potter." Tracey said batting her eyelashes at him.

He was tempted to lean in and test her, but he could hear Hagrid's distinct voice. Right, they were there for classes. Tracey laughed and pulled him along.

"So welcome everyone." Hagrid said, he was wringing his hands nervously. "Well today for your first class, I got you a right treat." His sharp whistle drew the attention of all the students, and a large shape at the edge of the forest.

It turned out to be a hippogryph, one of the most majestic creatures Harry had heard of, they were said to be prideful. It was a deep warm chestnut color, with a long and thick neck, its massive wings twitched with a clear strength.

Tracey sighed appreciatively, Harry very almost echoed her sentiment. Most of the class had made similar sounds, Hagrid beamed as he watched their reaction.

"So first thing to know is, hippogriffs are very proud, never insult a hippogriff. Dangerous business that. Second thing to know is that they really are very loyal creatures, once you earn their respect they will stick with you, unless you insult them."

Hagrid talked and talked, he spoke about the best ways to approach a hippogriff and the easiest way to befriend them. Harry could tell this was the man's true passion, and it showed. Even if a few of his housemates acted like fools.

"Who wants to come up and touch him?" Hagrid asked hesitantly.

Tracey shifted slightly, almost like despite her awe she was afraid. Harry couldn't say why he did it, but he volunteered. Hagrid ushered him up towards "buckbeak," the hushed mutters gave him more confidence.

He bowed deeply to the hippogryph, and after a short wait, he felt and heard it return the gesture. He reached up slowly and brushed his hand against its face, he looked into the beast's eyes and was met with a seemingly intelligent stare.

He turned back to some applause, and Hagrid gave him five entire points, Harry walked back to Tracey who was smiling appreciatively, at him.

"Keep looking at me like that and I might blush." He said, enjoying the way her smile grew.

She reached up with her right hand and brushed his cheek, he was a good deal taller than her now, Harry was impressed with how soft her hand was, and warm too. She smacked the top of his head.

"Just making sure it doesn't get too big."

And she took off to go and get her turn with Buckbeak, Harry watched the way she seemed to sway… he was going to be in for a tough year. After a while most of the class had touched the hippogriff, it seemed to like the attention.

Hagrid was in his element, to the point he asked if anyone wanted to ride the hippogryph, but when no one offered he called an end to the class. The only homework he gave was a foot long summary on the correct etiquette when interacting with a hippogryph.

Harry had loved the class, it was a refreshing change from the other classes he had, for the most part his study group's intense nature had driven them past the standard level of understanding. This was a refreshing change, and the fact that it was practical certainly helped.

When they entered the school Tracey pulled away from him a little, she was still walking next to him, but she kept a short distance between them. Harry didn't want to make her awkward by mentioning it, but he sure as heck didn't understand why she stopped.

They met up with Daphne near the charms hall, where they had their next class. Harry had been very excited to talk with Flitwick, he had plenty of theories he had developed over the summer he wanted to discuss. However the class was hectic, Flitwick wanted to put them through their paces, he wanted a demonstration of almost every single charm he had taught them so far.

Harry had barely said a word to Daphne since sitting next to her, but she seemed to be in a good mood, her smile was warm and pretty. Flitwick had even given them homework too, and his was a little more intense than Hagrid's. After the class had ended Harry pulled Daphne and Tracey to the side, after his classmates walked off he spoke.

"After potions come with me to the second floor okay?"

"Okay. why, what's up?" Daphne said, Tracey nodded alongside her.

"A little surprise I think you'll enjoy." He tried to give them a charming smile, he had seen his dad pull it off millions of times. To occasional success too.

Daphne just frowned and Tracey giggled. Then they walked off.

Harry groaned, though it wasn't too bad watching them walk away, his friends were almost as good looking from behind as the front.

The day dragged, History of magic had that effect on most days, but followed with potions was a cruel combination. Transfiguration had been the only saving grace, not that it was a surprise really, McGonagall's classes were usually really interesting.

He led the girls towards the second-floor bathroom, well the second-floor girl's bathroom. Tracey followed him in looking suspicious, but Daphne stood in the doorway looking stern.

"It's nothing like you're thinking Daphne, some imagination she's got eh Tracey?" He joked, Daphne glided past him and stood leaning against the nearest stall, wand clearly in hand.

"Well girls, I brought you here for a special purpose." He said, trying to imitate Lockhart's self-important tone. "If you would please close your eyes."

Daphne glared at him, not too coldly, but enough for him not to push it. Tracey seemed to trust him as her eyes were closed.

He walked over to the sink Jasmine had told him about, he felt to be sure the serpent was still there. He spoke, it wasn't easy to force the word to come out in parselmouth, but the shifting of the sinks was proof enough of his success.

Daphne gasped, Tracey also started gaping like a fish. Harry smirked as the sink opened up to show a deep dark hole, Jasmine claimed it was safe. Harry gestured with a wave of his hand. "Welcome ladies, to the Chamber of Secrets."

Their gasps were music to his ears, he looked down into the pit of nothingness hoping to see a sign of something, Jasmine had said it was a large pipe. How she had the bravery to go down there blind to rescue him he couldn't say.

"Quickly now girls, don't want anyone stopping by." He said with a grin. He sat on the lip of the hole and waited.

"It is safe, Right?" Tracey asked. She lowered herself down beside him, and grabbed his arm for security. The view down was hardly reassuring.

"Yeah of course." It wasn't a lie, Jasmine had been fine after all. And the basilisk was dead… right.

Daphne sat down on his other side. "So what, we just fall down there and we are fine."

Harry nodded, he grabbed both of their arms tight. "_Close."_ He could make out the not so subtle hiss of his word, it sounded wrong coming out of his mouth, but that was just because he wasn't used to it.

The sink began to slide back into place, so Harry gave a gentle tug on the girls, and they fell. It was a short fall, only enough for them to grunt at landing on the plumbing. Then they slid.

Tracey and Daphne screeched for all they were worth, Between that and the darkness, Harry was more than a little disoriented. As the pipe wound its way down they were jostled about by the curve of the pipe. At one point someone had accidentally kicked his shoulder, and Harry was sure he had headbutt some too.

They came crashing out of the pipe in a mess of arms and legs, Harry was very much squashed underneath the girls. Harry groaned loudly for them to move, but they were all nursing some small hurts, Daphne was the first to rise and she helped Harry and Tracey up.

"Well, that wasn't how I imagined having you two on top of me." Harry said, he quickly made to walk past the girls, he couldn't be too safe after all. But he stopped quickly when his foot crushed something, his wand was out in a second and bathing the chamber in light.

Bones littered the floor, Harry really couldn't remember them before, but his mind had been racing what with killing a basilisk and meeting teenage Voldemort. Daphne gave a disgusted groan and Tracey gagged at the smell.

"So much for Slytherin's famous Chamber, looks more like a rat sanctuary." Daphne said. Her face was twisted with disgust.

"Lucky that most of our housemates are quiet rat-like." Tracey said, then held her sleeves over her nose.

"Sorry about this, I forgot it was bad." Harry said, and he started to pick his way across the room, it was only a tiny part of the chamber anyway, and the least impressive.

Daphne clapped her hands loudly, Harry turned to see a pair of house elves standing by her, she quickly began ordering them to clean the place up. Within a few seconds, the remains that littered the floor were gone, leaving a cleanish room. The smell was still foul though.

Daphne carefully walked past Harry and grinned at him. Tracey bumped past him and winked. Harry shook his head and followed them, there was still another door he had to open before they could go on, after all.

That door was standing wide open, Harry had assumed it would close itself, but he rushed ahead of the girls before they could go through. He turned to look at them. "So this is the main Chamber of Secrets now, we didn't get much time to explore it, but there is a basilisk corpse here. So yeah, don't scream or anything." He said.

It was hard not to be nervous, in his memories the basilisk was massive, beyond anything he had thought possible. There was a chance that fear and pride had swollen the memory a little… if he found an adder or something instead he would be miserable.

The Chamber was large and wide, very open and bright considering how deep underground they were. Harry was pleased to see the size of the large black mass at the far end of the Chamber. Both Daphne and Tracey gasped and grabbed at his hands.

"You and your sister killed THAT?" Tracey said. Her voice was a mix of fearful and impressed. Harry swelled a little, he wasn't one to boast but it was pretty nice to show off his biggest achievement to date.

"Yeah, it was close though. The damn thing was quick." He couldn't keep the awe out of his voice, how they had survived unscathed was nothing short of a miracle.

Daphne and Tracey gushed over the ornate snakeheads, and the stone bust of Slytherin, and the basilisk. They were a little bit too impressed with the large stone snakeheads that had crushed the basilisk's head, but Harry couldn't exactly draw attention to the giant gaping wound that used to be its tail.

Before long the same pair of house elves reappeared and began cleaning up the main chamber, the large snakeheads were easily moved by the elves, they even managed to place them back to where Jasmine had taken them from. They didn't repair the damage done to them, however, Harry could hardly blame them.

"What do you want to do with the basilisk?"Daphne asked, Harry had given it almost no serious thought. He had imagined shrinking it down and keeping it to scare away idiots, but eventually, the decay would be too much.

"what can I do with it?"

"Sell it for ingredients, donate it to the school or the ministry or something." She replied. "Lots of very valuable things in a basilisk. The eyes alone would fetch you a small fortune with the right buyers."

"I'll have to talk to Jasmine about it, and I guess my parents. Never know where we need it more." He said, Daphne nodded and called over one of the house elves.

"Can you put the basilisk in stasis?" She asked, when the elf nodded Daphne ordered it to do so.

They explored the tunnels a little bit but found nothing of much interest, before long Harry had gotten pretty bored. The Chamber was impressive but not exactly special.

Tracey stopped near the bust of Slytherin, Harry and Daphne turned to see what had gotten her attention. The mouth of Slytherin seemed to be open, and there was a tunnel.

"Want to check that out?" She said pointing.

"I'm pretty sure that's where the basilisk came from. But I guess we can, it should be safe." Harry said as he cast a freezing spell on the water in front of the bust. He carefully picked his way across until he could grab on to the massive stone vanity project.

He cast a 'Lumos' and peered into Slytherin's mouth, the tunnel led down sharply, but there was clearly a door directly ahead, the gap was so small he would have crawl to get through but it was a door none the less.

"There's a door." He said, looking back to see Daphne waiting by the solid ground meanwhile Tracey slowly glided towards him. "I'm going to try and open it, if I can I'm going in too."

He heard Daphne mutter something about stupid Gryffindor, Harry ignored her jibe and jumped up to pull himself into the opening. The door opened downwards and made a bridge between the opening and the tunnel plummeting down.

He tried to pull it open, but it didn't budge, so he went to the first thing he thought of. "_open."_ The door clicked and slammed down hard, Harry was lucky his fingers hadn't been in the way, or else he might have lost them.

He made his way forwards, he idly thought that he was actually entering Slytherin's head. He quickly pulled his wand and bathed the way ahead in light, he saw a large and mostly empty room. When he got into the main part of the room he could stand up and look around.

The room was surprisingly vast, much bigger than it had looked from the tunnel. The walls were littered with bookcases, and some books were scattered around the shelves. A small sitting area was in the center of the room, with only a few chairs.

But that was it really, he assumed there would be more secrets littered around, Slytherin liked his secrets after all. But there was little doubt that there were some fantastic books on these shelves, he helped Tracey shuffle through the entrance.

He watched as she did what he had done, her face was alight with awe and her dazzling smile could have blinded him. Daphne had much the same reaction when she got through, Harry was pleased to see her at a loss for words.

It didn't last for very long. "Don't touch anything." Daphne commanded. "Slytherin was a paranoid man who guarded his secrets fiercely unless that basilisk just wandered in."

Harry knew she had a point, but there had to be some simply peerless books in this room. Daphne cast a simple summoning charm, but not a single book moved. Harry didn't want to leave the room empty-handed, but it wasn't worth an unknown ancient curse.

Tracey walked around the room looking carefully at everything until she called out to them. "Hey, none of these books are in English. I would guess French but it's way too… squiggly."

"Well, none of the founders lived when English was a thing," Daphne replied with a hint of smugness.

Harry peered at one of the books closest to him, the writing on the cover was certainly not anything like English, it wasn't even the English alphabet. It was parseltongue… he could read it somehow.

He was reading some ancient magical language, and there was almost no issue, other than the imperfections in the book.

"They are in parseltongue…" He barely even noticed he had spoken, but his voice carried. Daphne made an excited sound and Tracey rushed over to him.

He pulled his wand out and cast a summoning spell of his own. The book flew towards him, he caught it out of instinct and he didn't die.

"What was that?" Tracey said sounding scared. Harry turned to see Daphne watching him with a little bit of hesitance.

"What was what?" He asked.

"I think you just used parseltongue when using that summoning spell. It was all hissy." Tracey said. Daphne nodded emphatically.

Harry felt cold, he had been focused on the book, and thinking that he might be able to summon it because he was a parselmouth. He had never heard of using parseltongue spells… well considering the reputation that the talent had he wasn't at all surprised.

He looked down at the book, he could make out the title fully. 'My Collection of Egyptian Charm's.' The book was bound in leather and seemed to be written on parchment not too dissimilar to what he used in class.

It took almost no time to read that the book was written by Slytherin himself, this book was clearly meant to be read by himself and some trusted friends. Harry found very few instructions and even fewer incantations, most of the 'spells' were describing the mindset and goal of the spells.

Despite that he was bouncing with excitement, he met the girl's eyes' and grinned like a fool.

"It's _his_ Egyptian charms book." He said.

It didn't take long before they had found a few other interesting books to smuggle out of the Chamber, Harry was sure they would be back soon. This was a discovery that might just be a goldmine.

When they climbed up the stairway that changed out of the pipe Harry remembered that they had skipped dinner for this excursion. His stomach growled loudly, Daphne and Tracey laughed at him.

He tried not to look suspicious carrying the half dozen ancient tomes, Daphne had told him off for looking like a not so young Dumbledore. He almost sprinted into his bedroom, with only a polite parting comment for the girls.

He stayed up into the very early hours reading those books, the subjects while pretty commonplace was full of possibilities. He had made very sure to hide them before falling asleep, he was very aware that he would want to make that a habit.

He was woken by Tracey poking his face, while Daphne cast a tickling charm at him. He quickly got up to check on his books, he found them where he had hidden them. His sigh did nothing to help how exhausted he was.

Both girls were staring at him.

Harry frowned, then he looked down.

"So you sleep naked then Harry?" Tracey said, casually playing with her wand. her face was red but she didn't shift her gaze at all. Daphne meanwhile dropped her wand, and looked mortified, although she still made sure to look.

Harry tried to cover himself as he reached the bed and climbed back in and tucked himself under the blanket. He had never been so embarrassed, he had no words.

"Come on Daphne, we should let little Harry get dressed." Tracey said as she got up to pull Daphne out. "You should hurry, you'll be late for Ancient Runes." Harry barely caught her grin, but he still managed to fly into some clean robes and caught them before they left the common room.

They giggled.

It took a good few days before Harry could be alone with either of the girls without blushing, something Hannah and Susan had noticed, and Harry's hasty explanation was clearly not satisfactory. He had tried to skirt around the subject, but that had just drawn more attention.

Luckily the girls had kept the little issue a secret, Tracey had implied that she may have gotten closer to Harry, which made the Hufflepuff's frantically whisper to each other.

"Why is it so long?" Daphne asked. Harry felt his cheeks blaze, and groaned. "Oh Morgana, Harry grow up." She smacked his arm.

"Sorry."

"Flitwick only wanted a single foot, why have you written six feet?" She asked.

"Oh, erm, well… I was talking with my mum and Jasmine during the holidays and charm work in duels came up, so I wanted to run some more complex things past Flitwick." He said.

Daphne leaned over him and began to read his essay a bit, Harry didn't mind, it was stuff he would happily share with her. He was suddenly aware of a soft sweet smell coming from Daphne, not to mention how close she was to him. Yes he had been closer to other girls before, but Daphne had always held this certain aloofness, or unattainability.

Harry gulped, she had discarded her robe and he could see the faint dark outline of a bra under her shirt. She really was close to him, her hair rested gently around her neck, her porcelain skin was brushing his hand.

"This is interesting, let me know what Flitwick says okay Harry?" She pulled back and smiled at him. Harry blinked, and nodded. Daphne smirked slightly as she turned away, Harry blinked. His essay was still far from finished however, so he went back to writing it up.

Their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class was on the last day of their first week, so they had all heard the rumors about Moody's teaching. He was said to be intense and very demanding, but also most of the upper years couldn't shut up about what he was teaching.

Harry couldn't believe that he was showing the unforgivable curses, and on Dumbledore's orders too, but Jasmine had confirmed the rumors to him the morning of his first class with Moody.

Harry; Daphne and Tracey bustled into the classroom, trying to get seats up front, but the Ravenclaw students were already occupying the front few rows. Daphne cursed under her breath and they settled for sitting in the middle.

Moody stomped into the classroom from his personal office in the back, he gave the class a slow searching gaze. Harry watched his magical eye flicker around from face to face at a startling pace, he felt dizzy watching it let alone seeing through it.

"So you're teenagers now, you think that means you're ready to know what's actually out there, do you?" Moody nodded to himself slowly, as if gauging each student's reaction.

"Now Dumbledore wanted me to show the older students some of the real nasty stuff out there, he said you're too young for all that." Moody had an evil grin on his face. "I say that's bollocks. You have your wands, you need to learn to protect yourselves."

Harry sat forward, his notebook and quill were forgotten on his table. He could tell the entire class was paying Moody their utmost attention as no one was talking.

"There are wizards and witches out there who would give you all nightmares if you knew half of what I know. Luckily I'm here to teach you so you don't have to learn the hard way." His wooden leg rang on the floor with each of his prowling steps.

"Who can tell me what the most dangerous curses are?" Moody asked in his growling bark. Almost all of the Ravenclaw students raised their hands, as did Daphne and Nott. Moody pointed at Terry Boot, who preened under his attention.

"The unforgivables, sir."

"Wrong." Moody growled, Harry watched as Terry deflated visibly. Harry almost felt sorry for him, he prided himself on his knowledge. Moody pointed a gnarled hand at Nott.

"Almost any curse can kill if you want it to." Nott said. All casually as if he were talking about playing exploding snap, but then again his father was a Death Eater, maybe killing was commonplace for him too.

"Correct, Nott is it?" Moody said, he continued once Nott nodded. "Remember that class, your spells are dangerous, and so are your enemies. Unforgivables are only as bad as they are because they need the desire to kill; torture or control, there are plenty of other spells to do all those things."

His wand flashed into his hand and he lifted a small spider into the air, he charmed it to make it bigger. Harry watched with rising dread and excitement.

"What do you think would happen if I sent a cutting curse at this spider?" Moody asked, his voice was almost casual.

"If you hit it somewhere important it would die, painfully." Padma Patil said.

"Exactly, not exactly nice for the spider, or my reputation." And he lowered the spider onto his desk, then fired a cutting curse at it. The spell missed but it was a close miss. "Look at that, didn't even hurt the little bugger."

"You missed though." Malfoy said in a drawl as if he had been to better classes.

"Oh did I? This spider had the sense to get out of the way, more than I can say about plenty of grown wizards and witches." Moody said dangerously. "No curses are dangerous when they don't hit you. Remember that, if I teach you anything let it be that."

"Charms and transfigurations are different of course, but if you see a curse coming at you don't try and block it, don't try and perform the counter curse. GET OUT OF THE WAY. Dying over your fool pride is no way to go." Moody said.

Harry wasn't the only one not taking any notes. Almost the entire class was waiting on his every word.

"Potter. What the best way to deal with the killing curse?" He barked out.

Harry blinked and fell back into his chair. "Dodging it?"

"Good… Good." Moody said. "Your father thinks he can transfigure something to block it, you're lucky he's as fast as he is. Foolish plan." Moody shook his head disgustedly.

Harry felt his blood run cold for a second, had his dad nearly died trying to do something like that. He knew his dad was a little bit cocky, if not massively confident but that was a terrifying thought.

"Your fool of a sister said she wouldn't do anything. She lost ten points for that comment. Good job Potter, nice to see your mum taught one of you brats well." Harry laughed, Daphne and Tracey grinned at him.

"So what do we do when we can't dodge a curse, anyone?" Moody asked, Daphne raised her hand. "Yes, Greengrass isn't it?" She nodded.

"My father says it always best to go on the offensive when you're against bad odds." Daphne said carefully. "Better to attack rather than wait to be beaten."

Moody grinned and gave a rough laugh. "Vicious little shit your father. It's worked out for him before." Moody said. Harry frowned, Moody didn't sound like he was talking about a hated dark wizard but Harry knew little about Daphne's father.

"You're not wrong Greengrass, but it's not something I would recommend, here's what I would do. Who wants to cast a curse at me?" Moody asked the class, no one volunteered, but eventually, Malfoy raised his wand.

"Petrificus totalus." Malfoy said half-heartedly.

"Stupify." Moody growled, and their spells hit in mid-air, over a pair of Ravenclaws. An explosion of sparks rained down on them harmlessly.

"No shield can block all curses, but almost any spell can ruin another spell if they collide." Moody said. "You need good aim to pull that off, but that is one of the main things I'm going to teach you all."

Moody went on to demonstrate the unforgivables for them, as well as giving them an exhaustive rundown on why dark wizards used the spells. Harry felt like his hand was writing faster than it ever had before, and was scribbling down notes on as much as he could.

Harry and the others gushed as they left the classroom, Daphne and Tracey were as impressed as he was. Judging by their shared grins and the way they wouldn't stop talking at least.

The Gryffindor's and Hufflepuff's had their class at the end of the day so Harry was glad to have the 'Slytherin Elite' meeting, in case they let something slip, something Moody warned them would result in more homework. The buzz around his classes was entirely warranted and it seemed he was doing his best to maintain it.

Harry and Daphne rushed to the first meeting of the "Slytherin Elite", despite the meeting place being in the dungeons and coming from Moody's classroom they made it in time. Yaxley had been eager to get things rolling this year. He seemed to have big plans.

When they arrived they caught the end of a duel between the new second-year students and the fourth years, it was as one-sided as it could be. Gladwell and Sivvers' had been deliberately drawing it out, mocking the inexperienced second years.

They ended it before Harry could get involved, he had dearly wanted to, he helped the two second-year students into some chairs. They were hurt but it was mostly their pride Harry thought, they were bitterly angry and didn't want his help.

Harry left them when he knew they weren't hurt, he joined Daphne who was standing with Pucey. Before long Yaxley came over cutting off any discussion.

"In a few years the two of you will be in charge of this group, the others are far too average." Yaxley said and he ushered Harry over to a corner of the room. Harry didn't like being pulled away from Daphne, after all, she was on his side, the same couldn't be said of anyone else in this group.

"This is my last year, so I'm going to push you hard, you need to learn to control these fools. I need to see you giving this your all Potter, you understand?." Yaxley asked. Harry could tell there was a threat behind his voice.

"What do you want?"

"Malfoy still thinks he can best you, teach him otherwise. And soon." Yaxley said, Harry frowned he didn't like the idea of bullying Malfoy. "Then you will show the fifth and sixth years you aren't to be toyed with. Learn and learn fast Potter

"I'm not a bully." Harry glared up at the seventh year student.

"Then don't bully them, control them. Ask Greengrass for help if you cant think of anything." Yaxley said, he turned and walked away. Harry frowned after him, how could he control them without beating them, he didn't even want to control them

Daphne joined back up with him once she was done talking to Pucey, she frowned at him, wanting him to share

"He wants me to control the entire house because he's leaving this year." Harry muttered.

"Is that all, Harry that's easy." Daphne scoffed. "You're handsome, come from a good family, you're talented and you're a parselmouth.

"I'm handsome am I?" Harry asked with a

"Shut up, the school thinks of Slytherin as a place for evil students. You've already gone a long way to disprove that, not to mention you helped slay Slytherin's monster." Daphne said, her face was going red slightly. "You can earn the respect of the entire school easily if you tried."

"What did Pucey say to you?" Harry asked

"Apparently she thinks I would be better suited at keeping Slytherin students in line, better than you anyway." There was a dark look on Daphne's face as if she were angry about that or something.

Yaxley proceeded to discuss his plans for the year, more talk of strengthening the unity of the house. Harry didn't really understand why unity was so important to him, the house seemed like it had always been set apart and together.

Eventually, they were dismissed, so Harry and Daphne made their way to the great hall to meet up with Tracey, she was sat alone playing with her fork. Well, she was stabbing some potatoes, Harry grinned at her bored expression.

Harry noticed at dinner that Hannah and Susan were talking excitedly with their friends and making wild gestures, they were all so absorbed in their talk that their food went cold for a few minutes.

Harry stretched his feet out under the table, it was a nice first week, which was shocking considering how it had started. Rumors had the Minister for Magic himself marching into Azkaban for answers, but Daphne had reminded him of Fudge's famous cowardice.

When it came to such a big topic there were obviously wild rumors spreading. The only thing Harry knew was once they had escaped not a single one of them had been seen at all.

Harry had tried not to dwell on it, but those really were all of Voldemort's most loyal supporters, all escaping together. No one had ever escaped Azkaban before, Harry knew that much about how difficult it had to be.

After the struggle with the Chamber of Secrets, he knew all too well how defeated Voldemort really was. And watching Dumbledore and the other teachers he could see it in their faces too. Something was coming.

Harry could tell Jasmine would be involved in some way, she had managed to hide what Dumbledore had been trying to get her to learn, but that he was told Harry enough. And her scar had been hurting, he had watched her rubbing it and grimace in pain.

She denied it, of course, it was hardly something he wanted to think about, let alone what she must feel. But he wasn't imagining it.

The Great Hall was full of excited voices, students joking and laughing, teachers trying to relax while watching the students. Daphne and Tracey were making each other laugh with impressions of Moody. Harry saw Jasmine and Rosie sitting next to each other and chatting.

His eyes drifted, Susan was giggling too, her pretty red hair bounced on her shoulders as she laughed. His eyes met Malfoy's, the pale boy grinned at him, Harry had hardly had any interaction with him. But the stare Malfoy gave was very challenging.

Harry glared back at the blond ponce, he wasn't in the mood for the wannabe Death Eater trying to get one over on him. Harry went back to eating his dinner.

AN: This year will be a lot more in-depth than last year, the pacing isn't exactly the most thrilling, but I want to set up certain relationships and struggles, and I can't do that justice without giving it the time it needs.

Having said that things will pick up speed a bit as the next chapter will be introducing the champions, and the fall out of that. Which should be fun. I'm keeping things light hearted for the moment as I feel that's the natural way of it so far, but it will change soon.

I've been struggling to work on this story as much because I've got a Honks story floating around in my head, stealing all my focus. So I'm going to work on that for a few days and see how it goes. I would love to work with a Beta Reader for that, if anyone is interested I'd love to hear from you.

And as always Thank you for reading, I'm delighted to give you lot any sort of relief in these trying times. Take care.


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